


Balancing Act

by Squeemu



Series: Center of Balance [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Demisexual Noct, Everyone has a crush on Ignis, Gen, Ignis is in love with Noct and it's a Problem, Less of a burn and more of a gentle warmth, M/M, Prompto has a crush on everyone, Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension, especially Noct, i mean really slow, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-03-28 10:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13902525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squeemu/pseuds/Squeemu
Summary: Ignis cleared his throat. “I... have been seeing someone.”“That’s great,” Noct said. “Really great.” There followed a few very long seconds of extremely strained silence. “I mean, it's—really, really great.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A good deal of my headcanon for this fic was based on Brotherhood: Bittersweet Memories (i.e., Ignis's episode from Brotherhood).
> 
> Many, many thanks to [Baconfat](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Baconfat/pseuds/Baconfat) for her help on this fic. She both edited and wrote pieces for this entire story. Any mistakes are mine.

Noct was getting ready for his day, throwing some stuff in a bag in between farming crystals in King’s Knight, when there was a knock at the door. It even sounded like Ignis, uptight and efficient, and when Noct opened the door, there he was. In his white shirtsleeves and black vest, of course, carrying a brown bag full of groceries. “Good morning, Highness.”

“You’re early,” Noct accused.

“You’re surprised?” Ignis asked.

“You could have waited in the car,” Noct went on, choosing to ignore the groceries. There was something green and leafy and definitely inedible sticking out of the top of the bag. “I’m almost ready to go.” Assuming he could find his Civics notes and his training gear, anyway.

“Of course,” Ignis said. “But I noticed yesterday that you were out of eggs—”

“So you brought _celery?_ ” Noct interrupted.

“A crucial ingredient in egg-fried rice,” Ignis informed him. 

“Even if you pick it out?”

“It still imparts flavour,” Ignis insisted. “And, one hopes, at least _some_ nutrition.” He ignored Noct’s eyeroll, nodding towards the kitchen. “May I?”

Noct let him in and got back to his game, trying to dig out his notes while both of them pretended Ignis wasn’t inspecting his apartment and making a mental checklist of everything that needed to be cleaned.

By the time he'd finished packing, breakfast was ready and Ignis had cleaned the entire kitchen.

"Rice is a little dry," Noct told him, picking out another piece of celery before shoving a forkful in his mouth. It tasted good, though.

Ignis took a bite, frowning slightly. "Perhaps a little more soy sauce next time," he agreed. They ate in silence for another minute before Ignis asked, "And how was your evening?"

_How much homework didn't you finish_ , he meant. Noct shrugged. "Fine." He didn't need Ignis lecturing him again, and anyway, he'd _tried_. It was just that he'd fallen asleep before he'd managed to get anything done.

"Glad to hear it," Ignis said. He looked kind of tired. He must have been up late working on stuff for a council meeting. "Ready for your day?"

Noct ate another bite. "How about another cup of coffee first?"

"Certainly," Ignis allowed, trying to hid his smile behind his mug. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Ignis got up, pouring them both another cup, and began cleaning up. By the time he'd finished, Noct had almost harvested enough crystals to buy something really cool.

"All set?" Ignis asked.

"Uh huh," Noct said, tapping at the last Zell tree.

"And you've locked the balcony door?"

Noct rolled his eyes. "Yep," he repeated. "Locked it."

Ignis checked it anyway. Finally satisfied, they made their way down to the parking garage.  
Noct threw his bag into the back of the car and climbed in. Ignis always waited until he was sitting before climbing in himself, but at least he'd stopped trying to open the car door for him.

“Oh yeah, can we pick up Prompto on the way?”

“Of course,” Ignis said and tapped something into his phone — probably updating his schedule — and waited for Noct to buckle up. “Is he going to begin combat training as well?”

Noct laughed, more at Ignis's tone than at the question. “Nah. I think he just likes watching me get my ass kicked.”

“It does hold a certain appeal,” Ignis admitted, finally putting his phone down and starting the ignition.

“He wants to study for the history test, and we have to work on our Civics project.”

“An exceptional plan,” Ignis said, which automatically made Noct want to forget the whole thing and spend the night doing nothing. 

“Is there anything going on at the Citadel tonight?” Noct asked.

“Why don’t you check your schedule,” Ignis suggested, like he didn’t know already know everything that was happening in and around the Citadel for the next year. 

“Fine,” Noct groaned, grabbing Ignis’s phone. It was heavily encrypted, just like all the crownsguard phones. Noct had one too, but he didn't use his for much besides texting and King's Night. Iggy probably kept state secrets in there.

He also kept Noct’s schedule on it, organized and updated down to the minute. He'd set it up on Noct's phone, of course, complete with a complex, color-coded scheme designed to be easy to read. It gave Noct a headache. It was way easier to just go to Ignis's phone and find the original copy. Besides, his dad's schedule was on it, too.

He punched in Ignis’s password and gave it his thumbprint. Three different alerts popped up: a reminder about a briefing later this morning, a notice about some... gallery opening or something later in the month, and a text: 

> _Had a great time last night. Can’t wait to see you again._

Noct fumbled the phone, just managing to catch it before it fell.

"Something wrong?" Ignis asked, his eyes on the road. 

"Nope," Noct managed, keeping his tone cool and casual. Mostly. "Just checking my schedule."

"Of course," Ignis said, amused. "You do realize—"

"I have one on my phone," Noct cut in, picking up the refrain. "I know. Color-coded and everything."

"And yet you insist on finding the original."

"And _you_ insist on using both mauve and burgundy."

"I am using the official coloring schema put into place by your father's advisor," he said stiffly.

"With no modifications?" Noct pressed.

Ignis sputtered. "Only a few, here and there. Chartreuse was simply not a reasonable option."

Noct opened his mouth, but Ignis's phone buzzed in his hand before he could respond. He managed not to drop it this time, but he also completely failed to keep his eyes off the screen.

> _Dinner Friday night?_

Noct stared at it. _What—?_

Holy shit. "You're dating someone," he said. He didn't mean to make it sound like an accusation.

Ignis turned to look at him, face pale, eyes darting between the phone and Noct’s face. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He was _speechless_. Ignis was never speechless. The light turned green and someone honked behind them. Ignis jumped in his seat. Put his eyes back on the road and kept driving.

After a long, long silence, he finally said, “Noctis —”

"You're _dating_ someone," Noct interrupted, a little shriller this time. He didn’t know why he sounded so upset.

"Yes," Ignis said, his voice a little faint. "I suppose I am. I meant to tell you."

He’d meant no such thing, Noct was sure. "That's—that's cool," Noct tried. He put the phone down, suddenly feeling like it was off-limits.

"If it troubles you," Ignis said immediately, "I will put an end to it."

"No." Noct wasn't sure what he felt about this, but he didn't want Ignis to _stop_ , especially not when he was using his _I will murder someone in cold blood if it gives you a tactical advantage_ voice. 

Ignis nodded, his expression carefully controlled. He was in full retreat now. Great. Just great. “There is a small reception at the Citadel with the district governors tonight, beginning at seven o’clock,” he said, tone as dry and professional as Dad's councillors. Noct hated them. “While your attendance would be appreciated, it is not imperative.”

"Right. Thanks, Specs," Noct said, aiming for friendly. The tension in the air was too thick, though, and the whole thing fell short. “Think I’ll study with Prompto instead. There's a test coming up.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Ignis said, his back stiff and his eyes firmly on the road. 

Noct gave up and slumped in his seat to stare out the window. Thinking of questions like _When did this happen_ and _Why didn’t you tell me_ and knowing he couldn’t ask them because Ignis would feel like he had to answer, no matter how badly he didn’t want to. He’d be polite and considerate and he wouldn’t tell the truth, which was _It’s none of your business, Noct_. 

He was barely aware they’d reached Prompto’s place until Prompto was climbing in the car. “Good morning, fellas! And how are we on this lovely summer Saturday?”

“Fine,” Noct said. Ignis just stared straight ahead, pulling away from the curb.

“Okay,” Prompto said skeptically. Took in the mood for a few seconds before asking, “Uh, who died?” He abruptly scrambled forward between the two seats. “Please tell me nobody died, that was —”

“It’s fine,” Noct cut him off. “Don't worry about it. How was your run?”

Prompto was silent for half a second, obviously not believing him, before he finally settled back into his seat. “Get this. Our Lady of the Hot Pink Tank Top _winked_ at me.”

Noct snorted, turning around to look at him. “Winked?” he asked skeptically.

“Winked.”

“Are you sure she didn’t just have sweat in her eye? Or like, a bug or something?”

“Let me have this,” Prompto begged. 

“Did you wink back?” Noct asked.

“I tried! But by the time I got over the shock she was gone. I almost ran backwards, you know, pretending I was switching my routine up, but I figured that would probably end in disaster.”

“Definitely.”

“Just gotta practice my wink so I’ve got it ready for next time," he said cheerfully. "It’s actually kind of hard when you think about it too much? But I’ve learned that a lot of things are. Do you think it would be creepy if I asked her for a selfie?”

“Most certainly,” Ignis advised. Noct laughed.

“Whatever, I’m not taking romantic advice from you two,” Prompto sniffed and had no idea why that killed the mood. 

 

\- - - - -

 

Ignis kept his hands firmly on the wheel and his full concentration on navigating the traffic on the way to the Citadel. The rest of the drive was painfully quiet, aside from Prompto’s periodic, unnecessary, and seemingly uncontrollable remarks. 

When they walked into the training hall, Gladio took one look at them and asked, “What’s wrong with you sorry sacks?”

“Nothing,” Noct said, tossing his bag aside and summoning a training sword. “Let’s do this.”

Gladio arched his eyebrows, astonished. “What’s with you, all of a sudden?”

Ignis cleared his throat before the prince could answer. “Before you begin, I have a minor announcement to make.” _Not_ a confession.

All eyes were abruptly on him. He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and said, “I... have been seeing someone.”

There was a brief but acutely appalling silence before Prompto said, far too loudly, “Whoo-hoo! Way to go, Ignis!”

Ignis chose to ignore that, which unfortunately forced him to accept Gladio’s high five, instead. “Nice,” Gladio grinned. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name is Maritus,” Ignis said, attempting to imbue his voice with enough finality to forestall any further questions.

“His?” Prompto floundered. “Name? Sorry, just— _he_?” 

Ignis felt oddly grateful. Perhaps this would draw some of the attention away from him. 

It did not. “Glad you found someone who appreciates you, Iggy,” Gladio said, ignoring Prompto completely. “You deserve it.”

“Yeah,” Noct added, finally. “That’s great. Really great.” There followed a few very long seconds of extremely strained silence. “Seriously, it's—great.”

“Thank you,” Ignis told him, quite sincerely. Overall this had gone better than he had been expecting, particularly considering how little time he’d had to prepare.

“He sounds great,” Noct went on, despite the fact that Ignis had told them nothing about him. “I’m happy for you. As long as he’s making you happy, I mean, then that’s great.”

“Yeah!” Prompted chimed in. “Super great!” It was difficult to tell if he was trying to cover Noct's extremely odd behavior or his own. 

“You should bring him around sometime,” Noct said.

“Totally!” Prompto agreed. “We gotta meet him!”

Gladio snorted. “Does he know you have kids?”

Ignis sighed. 

“Seriously though,” Gladio said, “I’m happy for you. And if he does anything to hurt you—if he even _thinks_ about it—I’ll tear him apart with my bare hands.”

“I am more than capable of taking care of myself," Ignis pointed out.

“Or he doesn't give you the respect and admiration you deserve,” Gladio continued, ignoring him, “he's done for."

"Perhaps you should listen to your own advice," Ignis murmured.

"Huh?" Gladio grunted, oblivious.

"Never mind," Ignis sighed, giving up. “I appreciate your support.”

Gladio clapped him on the back, hard, before turning his attention to the prince. “You ready for this?”

Noct nodded, glancing one last time at Ignis before moving off to warm up.

Gladio looked Prompto over. “What about you? You finally ready to learn to fight?”

“Uh,” Prompto laughed nervously, “I’m just here for moral support.”

Gladio crossed his arms. “You want to stay, you gotta work.”

“I already ran four miles this morning!” Prompto protested.

“Good start,” Gladio said, clapping him on the back as well, giving him a shove in the direction of the weights. “Do some lifts.”

Prompto shuffled off, dejected, and Gladio looked Ignis over. “So, you okay?”

“I'm fine,” he said. Did he look like he wasn’t?

Gladio grunted either acknowledgment or skepticism. “You coming by later to train?” His grin curled into a smirk. “Unless you got plans with Maritus?”

“I’ll be here,” Ignis said stiffly, straightening his vest.

“Good. I’ll need a real workout once I’m done with the prince.” He winked and walked away, already bellowing about squats and reps.

Ignis was happy to leave them. A good, lengthy briefing was exactly what he needed just now.


	2. Chapter 2

Noct dragged himself back to his old room in the Citadel after training, Prompto following close behind. He usually hated sparring with Gladio, but today it'd been kind of satisfying. 

"Oh man," Prompto panted, "that was intense."

Noct fell onto his bed, yawning. “I’m ready for a nap.”

“ _I’m_ ready to die,” Prompto groaned, collapsing next to him. “You're going to have to carry me out of here. I don't think I’m gonna be able to move. Gladio has _got_ to be stopped.”

“You’re telling me,” Noct said, his eyelids getting heavy. Maybe he could close his eyes, just for a few minutes.

“Was it just me, though, or did you kick his ass back there?”

Noct opened his eyes again, grinning. “Yeah, kinda.”

“Not that I can ever really tell who’s winning, but he actually stopped barking about openings after a while. And I _know_ you landed some good hits.”

“I’ve never really beat him before,” Noct said, holding his hands up, rolling his fingers. “Felt pretty good.”

Prompto rolled onto his side to grin at him. “Somebody ate his Oaty-Oh's this morning.”

Noct snorted. “Ignis made me breakfast.”

"You are so lucky,” Prompto laughed. "I mean, of course he did. Wish _I_ had an Ignis," and then frowned. “He’s, uh, dating someone, huh?”

And just like that, whatever was left of Noct’s good mood left him. “Ignis? I guess. I saw a message on his phone.”

“No _way!_ What did it say?”

“I don’t know,” Noct said, even though it was pretty much burned into his brain now. _Had a great time last night_. “They’re going out for dinner on Friday.”

“Ooh,” Prompto said. “I was kinda hoping there would be adorable pet names or something, though.”

Noct glared at him. "Like what?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, smirking. "Specs? Specky? My sweet sexy butler?"

Noct aimed a kick at him that didn't come close to making contact. "Quit it."

Prompto finally finished laughing himself sick and they both stared up at the ceiling for a long minute. 

“So, uh,” Prompto said, trying to be real casual even though he was scrambling to sit up, leaning forward like Noct was about to share state secrets. “Did you know that Ignis was, you know,” and he looked around, lowering his voice, “gay?”

Noct blinked up at him. “Huh?”

“I mean,” Prompto stammered. “He’s dating a dude. I’d call that pretty gay.”

Noct sat up with an effort, running a hand through his hair. “That’s not—I mean, yeah. Of course he’s gay, I wasn’t questioning that.” Prompto just kept looking at him, expectantly, so Noct gave up and decided to just answer his original question. “I mean, we never talked about it or anything, but it's not a surprise.”

"Why didn't you tell me, man?"

Noct stared at him. "Why would I tell you?"

"Because!" Prompto sputtered. "I didn't know! What if I said something stupid?"

Noct laughed. "Like you wouldn't anyway?"

"C'mon," he muttered.

Noct shrugged by way of apology. "I didn't think I had to tell you. It's—" he tried to think of a tactful way of saying it. An Ignis way. He wasn't Ignis, though, so all he managed was, "I mean, it's... just really, really obvious?"

"For you, maybe," Prompto grumbled. "You've known him all your life, though."

“I guess,” Noct said. “I don’t think he was trying to keep it a secret or anything. His, uh, preferences, I mean. Obviously the—the other thing was.”

“You mean his _lover?_ ” Prompto purred.

“Shut up," Noct groaned.

“Okay, how did they meet?”

“I don’t know.”

“How long have they been dating?”

“I don’t _know!_ ” Noct snapped, and Prompto shrank a little. Noct rubbed at his eyes. All he wanted was sleep. “I just saw the text and Ignis got all weird and quiet about it.” 

“Huh,” Prompto said. “Don't you think it’s kinda strange he was hiding it? I mean, you’d tell _him_ if you were dating someone, right?”

“I wouldn’t have to,” Noct said, wishing they’d stop talking about this. “He knows everything about me.”

“But you don’t know everything about him,” Prompto finished.

Obviously not. Noct glared at the floor. “He’s just... really private.”

“I’ll say,” Prompto agreed. “What’s his deal, anyway? Does he have a sense of humour?”

Noct blinked. “Sure. He likes puns.” And once in a while Noct managed to make him laugh so hard neither of them could breathe.

“Of course he does,” Prompto said. “I bet clever wordplay about ancient Lucian history cracks his shit up. Does he have any hobbies?”

 _Hobbies?_ “He likes to cook,” Noct tried.

“Does he? Like to? It’s kind of his job, isn’t it?”

 _Was_ it his job? He’d only really started doing it when Noct moved out of the Citadel. Either way, once he'd started, he got really intense about it, but Ignis was like that about everything. “I don’t know,” Noct said, frustrated. “Why are you so obsessed with him all of a sudden?”

“I’m not!” Prompto squeaked. “I’m just curious! I’m a naturally curious person!”

Noct arched his eyebrows.

“He—he’s just always been kind of a mystery to me, you know? Like, he’s there wherever you are, all the time. Lurking. Glaring.”

Noct laughed. “Yeah, at me, when I don’t eat my vegetables.”

“I’ve always been sort of worried that one day he’ll decide I’m a bad influence on your royal highness and take me for a ride.”

“Take you for a _ride?_ Where?”

“Uh, out past the Wall?” Prompto threw his arms out, like, _poof_. “And just... leave me there.”

Noct cracked up. “He’s not a mob boss.”

Prompto was into it now, though. “Or that he’d just, you know, cut my throat and throw me into the reservoir to sleep with the fishes.”

Noct thought about it. “I bet the carp would love that. We’d really see some whoppers if Ignis started throwing bodies in there.”

“Dude,” Prompto protested.

Noct grinned. “He’s not gonna kill you, okay?” He paused. “Not unless I order him to.”

 _”Dude!”_  

“And even then, he wouldn’t cut your throat. He’d probably just poison your food.”

“That’s not funny!” 

“I think it’s hilarious,” Noct told him. “Look, he’s not a royal assassin. He’s just Ignis.”

“Exactly,” Prompto said. “Anyway, maybe you don’t know. He was hiding a boyfriend, who knows what else he’s got going on? He could be Lucis’s champion chocobo racer and we’d have no idea.”

“Whatever,” Noct grumbled, pulling his phone out. “You want to run the Crater dungeon again? I still haven’t got the boss to drop the Soul Sword.”

\- - - - -

Gladio was sprawled out in the middle of the floor, catching his breath and pouring water down his throat, when Iggy came back to the training hall, dressed in his sparring clothes and ready to go. He crossed the hall, pausing in front of Gladio to frown down at him. “Are you quite alright?”

Gladio grunted. “What the hell got into him this morning? Did you give him an Ebony?”

Ignis gave a little snort, looking pleased. “I take it he did well?”

“Didn’t know the little shrimp could hit that hard. _Something_ got up his ass, that’s for sure.”

Ignis hesitated. “Yes, well. I’m sure it’s nothing,” he said, which was weird as hell. “Should we postpone our sparring session?”

“Oh, hell no,” Gladio said, heaving himself up. “I’ve been waiting for the chance to pound your ass into the ground.”

Ignis’s eyebrows ticked up. “It has been a while, hasn’t it? I believe we called it a draw last time.”

“Barely,” Gladio said. “I’d ask where you’ve been, but I think I can guess.”

Ignis went real still. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Gladio grinned, rolling his shoulders. “You used to be in here every day at the crack of dawn. Lately, not so much.”

Ignis barely glanced at him before starting his warm up, rolling his shoulders, his neck. “Then perhaps you need to get up _before_ the crack of dawn.”

Gladio arched his eyebrows. "And this morning?"

He paused mid-stretch before finally saying, "I was otherwise occupied."

Gladio grinned at him. "With your man?"

Ignis straightened up to glare at him. "I was with His Highness."

Gladio winked. "That's what I said."

"Charming," Ignis said, just _dripping_ sarcasm. 

“You know, the world’s not gonna end if you let yourself have a good time, once in a while. Maybe show up on time instead of an hour early. Lay in bed for a bit, have breakfast with your boyfriend.”

Ignis let out a breath, stretching his legs. “’Boyfriend’ is a bit of an overstatement,” he said, keeping his tone dry.

Gladio shrugged. "Fling? Boy toy?"

"Regardless," Ignis moved on, his voice strained, "I am perfectly capable of enjoying myself _without_ neglecting my duties.”

Gladio held his hands up. "Glad to hear it."

Ignis shifted his weight, finishing his warm-up. He squared his shoulders, summoning his daggers and dismissing them just as quickly. It was always a pleasure to watch him work, every move deliberate and deadly.  

"I am curious, though," Ignis added, just _dragging_ the words out, "how it is you manage to balance work with more personal affairs."

Gladio shrugged. "Never been a problem."

Ignis arched an eyebrow. "Are you seeing someone?"

"Regularly," he drawled, letting it roll off his tongue. 

Ignis took that in with a sigh. "You're seeing multiple someones."

"Uh-huh."

Ignis gave him a rather pointed look.

"Not all at the same time," Gladio protested. "Unless they're into that. Give me _some_ credit."

"How do you do it?" he demanded, with enough force Gladio was actually almost taken aback.

"Uh," he tried, not really sure where Iggy was going with that. "You want me to find you another guy? I can think of plenty who'd be—"

"No," he hissed. "One is _more_ than enough."

 _That's 'cause you're already seeing two_ , Gladio almost said, but he'd always been uptight about Noct. No way he'd laugh a joke like that off. "So what's the problem?" he said instead.

"It has been... suggested to me," he bit out, patience slathered on like it could mask his irritation, "that I need a better balance between my work and personal time."

"And you want to know how I do it," Gladio guessed.

"If you would be so kind."

"Alright, but I gotta know," he said, "who had the guts to tell _you_ to get a life?"

Ignis let out an irritated breath. "It's of no importance," he said dismissively.

Gladio knew that tone. "This should be good," he said, crossing his arms. "Let's hear it."

He shifted slightly, adjusting his glasses. "After the meeting, His Majesty suggested I looked a little drawn, is all."

Gladio arched his eyebrows. " _Regis_ said that? To _you?_ "

"He also suggested I make sure to balance my duties with—" his mouth pulled up in distaste, like he'd had a swig of stale coffee, "fun, as it were."

Gladio snorted. "Damn, Iggy."

"Any advice would be appreciated," he said, sighing.

Gladio shrugged. "You just gotta make time for it, schedule it in. Establish some boundaries. And enforce them," he added, before Ignis could try and pretend he'd actually done any of that shit. "You think I give a damn what Noct wants when I'm not working?" He picked up his practice sword. "Hell no. How I spend my free time is none of his business."

Ignis snorted. "I hadn't realized you gave a damn at work, either," he said mildly.

"I would if he gave good orders," he grunted, taking a few practice swings.

"Hmm," he said, noncommittally. "My free time is rather more limited, unfortunately. Even if—"

"You have plenty of time," Gladio told him bluntly. "Your problem is that you just can't say no to Noct."

"It seems to me I say little else," Ignis protested, indignant now.

"Uh huh," he said skeptically, crossing his arms. "And then Noct argues with you, and whines, and bats his lashes—"

"You are on dangerous ground," Ignis snapped.

"—and you always give in," he finished. 

"I do no such thing!" Ignis exploded.

"He's got you wrapped around his little finger and you know it."

"Perhaps on occasion I reconsider my position in light of the prince's objections—"

Gladio snorted in disbelief. "Spare me, Iggy. Just do me a favor and think about it. Trust me, we _all_ want you to loosen up and find some work-life balance. You'd be a lot more bearable if you were getting laid on a regular basis." He nodded at the training spear still hanging in its place on the wall. "You planning to use that thing at some point?"

"With _pleasure_ ," Ignis told him, trotting over to pick it up.

Gladio always somehow managed to forget how _good_ Ignis was with a spear in hand. He couldn’t take a hit like Gladio, but it hardly mattered when he was so damn hard to hit in the first place. He didn't compare in sheer strength or experience, but he knew how to use what he had, and there was just enough flash to his moves to make him unpredictable. He used every opening Gladio gave him, wearing him down one touch at a time, darting in and out again too fast to counter. Gladio could almost swear he had some of that royal warp magic, sometimes. 

Made it really damn satisfying when Gladio timed it just right, though, and actually managed to land a blow. Caught him off balance and Ignis went down with a tumble. 

“Impressive,” he said, sounding like he actually meant it, and picked himself back up again.

Gladio decided to take that as a white flag, whether he meant it that way or not, and dropped his sword. “God _damn_ , Iggy,” he breathed, and wiped some of the sweat off his forehead. 

Ignis looked him over, amused. “It seems Noct really did wear you out.”

Gladio grunted a warning at him and broke off to swig down some water. He collapsed on the bench, taking a few seconds to catch his breath. Watched Ignis take a long drink of water, towelling himself off before he joined Gladio on the bench, closing his eyes and tilting his head back against the wall. Whoever the new boyfriend was, he had good taste at least.

“So," he grunted, "How’d you two meet?”

Ignis blinked at him like he didn't have a clue what Gladio was talking about.

“What’s his name,” he grunted. “Maritus.”

“Ah. Yes.” Ignis pulled his glasses off to clean them, his mouth quirking. “Our eyes met over the last can of Ebony in the market—"

"You're shitting me," Gladio laughed.

"—and our hands briefly touched. He asked for my number, and when I refused to give it, asked for a cup of coffee instead, seeing as I had taken the last can." He put the glasses back on, pretty damn pleased with himself. "It did not go poorly."

"Well done, Iggy."

Ignis smiled, briefly satisfied, before he moved on. "His Highness did not seem particularly pleased."

Huh. So maybe that's what got into his royal pain in the ass this morning. He'd found out Iggy had something better to do than clean up after him. "Yeah, well, he can put on his big boy pants and deal."

"I'm afraid it may not be that simple."

"It is," Gladio said firmly. "Noct's the prince, not your owner. You got a good thing, here. Don’t let him ruin it just ‘cause he doesn’t like sharing his toys."

“Ex _cuse_ me."

Gladio spread his hands, daring him to argue.

Ignis looked away, mouth set. He was pissed, yeah, but Gladio could see him thinking about it. Maybe the point would actually sink in. Gladio loved Noct like a brother, but the kid could be every inch the spoiled prince sometimes. Ignis seemed to forget it was as much their job to keep his head from getting too big as it was to keep him safe. 

"Perhaps you're right," Ignis said finally.

"Damn straight I am," he nodded. And hell. He knew better than to ask if Iggy could use some help, but it came out anyway. "You need anything, just let me know. Always happy to lend a helping hand, even if things don’t work out with this guy."

Ignis looked at him searchingly, and for half a second, Gladio thought maybe he'd caught the unspoken offer. "Thank you," he said eventually, a rejection if Gladio had ever heard one. "I'll... keep that in mind." 

Gladio told himself he wasn't disappointed. "Same time next week?”

“Certainly,” Ignis said warmly and walked out. 

Gladio took a moment to watch him go, enjoying the view. Hard to imagine Maritus knew just how lucky he was, but he guessed it didn't really matter, so long as Iggy was happy. Took another second before he finally shook it off and got up to hit the showers.


	3. Chapter 3

School had finally let out and Prompto was stoked. He had a date with his best friend and a pinball machine. Not—not that it was an actual _date_ , that'd be—that'd be weird, probably, but they'd been talking about it for days and Prompto was going to _kick Noct's ass_. They'd just grabbed their stuff and were heading outside when they found Gladio waiting for them, all buff and inked and leaning against a car. 

"Hey," Noct said, cool and casual. 

"Gladio!" Prompto grinned and got a grunt in return. He was probably the only guy Prompto'd ever met who actually grunted. "What's up? Ooh, is Noct in _danger_?"

Noct punched his arm, and ow, that actually hurt. Gladio raised an eyebrow at him. "Actually, yeah. Some asshole decided to send in a death threat.”

Prompto paled. "Are you serious?"

"Would I be here if I weren't?"

Prompto didn't really feel like he knew Gladio well enough to answer that kind of question, but it basically answered itself, anyway. "So, uh, we should go somewhere right? Somewhere safe?"

Gladio snorted. Was that a step up or down from grunting? "Look at you, ready to join the Crownsguard."

Prompto flushed, not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not. Before he could say anything embarrassing about it, though, Noct spoke up.

"We're going to the arcade."

"The arcade," Gladio said flatly, crossing his arms. It made him look even bigger and more intimidating than he usually did. "I don't think so."

"Uh, but maybe he has a point?" Prompto said to Noct, doing his best to sound manly and confident instead of just kind of terrified. "Someone's after your life, dude."

Noct rolled his eyes. "It's a death threat," he said, like they were discussing an irritating turn in the weather. "It's not a big deal."

"Don't care," Gladio told him. "We're going back to the Citadel."

"Isn't that the first place they'd look for me?" Noct protested.

"It's the most heavily armed place in the city," he growled. 

"Where's Ignis?" Noct asked, looking around. 

Gladio shrugged. "Running errands or something. Don't think he knows about it yet."

"It can't be that important, then," Noct said, putting a hand on his hip and a shit-eating grin on his face. 

"Stop whining and start acting like a prince," Gladio growled. "There are people who—"

"I _know_ ," Noct interrupted, clenching his fists. "People depend on me, I get it."

Prompto didn't know what to do. Noct was upset and he wanted to help, but what could _he_ do? Lady Lunafreya was counting on him to be Noct's buddy and back him up, though, so he opened his mouth and what came out was, "If we can't go to the arcade, then let's make the arcade come to _us_."

They both turned to stare at him like he was stupid or like they'd maybe forgotten he was there. But the words were already out, so he might as well run with it, right? Right. "We'll just download a bunch of games on our phones," he said, "and, and compete for the high score. Just like at the arcade."

Noct arched an eyebrow at him, interested but too cool to say so.

"Gladio and Ignis too," Prompto continued, actually starting to get excited about this now. "It won't take too long for them to download King's Knight." He grinned at Noct. " _And_ I bet we could kick their ass."

Noct smirked at him. "At last, someone you can beat."

"You wish!"

"Hey, now," Gladio joined in, grinning that evil, evil grin of his. "As if I'd let you two scrawny punks beat me at anything."

"It's on," Noct laughed, and just like that, it was fixed. Huh. Maybe Prompto had helped after all. "But we're going to my apartment."

Gladio rolled his eyes. "I _told_ you—"

"You said Ignis doesn't know, right?" Noct argued. "He'll freak out if I'm not there when he comes back."

"Huh." Gladio scratched his chin. "Might be doable." He nodded. "I'll call for backup, get a couple of Crownsguard to keep an eye things."

Noct shrugged. "Do whatever you want. _I'm_ going home." He turned to Prompto, "C'mon, let's go."

Prompto threw a nervous glance at Gladio, but the guy didn't seem too worked up. 

"Hold on," he grunted, pulling his phone out and turning his back on them, showing an awful lot of trust in someone who'd just threatened to run away. Noct didn't try anything, though, just stood there looking kind of bored and sleepy.

"Does this happen a lot?" Prompto asked him quietly.

Noct shrugged. "I guess."

"Often enough," Gladio growled. "Gets 'em at least once a—hello? Yeah, can I talk to Dux?"

"That's messed up," Prompto whispered, trying to keep quiet out of respect. And so Gladio didn't yell at him. "Why would anyone want to kill _you?_ "

Noct flexed his fingers like he was doing a warm up before training, frowning off into the distance. "Some people just want attention, I guess."

"Yeah, _bad_ attention," Prompto told him.

"Alright, kids," Gladio said, phone call apparently over. "Let's get moving. You got your wish after all, Prince Charmless."

Noct rolled his eyes but got in the car, Prompto scrambling in after him.

Gladio's driving was not as smooth as Ignis's. He seemed to think every stop light was a race and he had a disturbing tendency to jerk the wheel instead of just turn it. There was also more swearing involved, but they eventually arrived at Noct's apartment in one piece, all of them. Alive. 

As soon as they got inside, Noct immediately headed for his room, dumping his stuff on the floor and flopping onto his bed. He didn't look like he was coming out any time soon, so Prompto climbed in next to him. Gladio leaned in the doorway for a minute, his arms crossed like he was chaperoning them instead of on the lookout for bad guys, before he finally gave up and dragged a chair in from the kitchen.

Prompto was prepping for their big night, downloading as many games as possible, when Noct said, totally out of the blue, "What do we really know about this guy, anyway?" He sounded kind of incensed. For Noct, anyway. 

It took Prompto a second to realize he wasn't talking about one of the characters in King's Knight. "Uh, he's a bad guy?" he tried. "He wants you dead, remember?"

"Ugh, no. I meant Ignis's—" he stopped, scowling. "Maritus, or whatever his name is. He could be a spy for all we know. He could be from _Niflheim_."

Prompto let out a nervous laugh, ignoring the sudden stab of nerves that always came on whenever someone brought up Niflheim. He didn't even know why it made him nervous. _I hear they tattoo barcodes onto their citizens!_ someone at school had said once, and everyone but Prompto had laughed.

Everyone but Prompto probably didn't have a barcode tattooed onto their wrist, either. And—it was probably nothing, a souvenir from the orphanage, just like his parents told him. It wasn't like they had a reason to lie to him, but he'd always felt like he was different, and the Nifs were about as different as you could get. 

_You worry too much,_ his mom had said, and that was _definitely_ true, so Prompto covered it up with some arm bands and did his best to forget it was there.

"He could even be after my dad," Noct added, glaring at his phone like it might hold the answers.

"I think Iggy deserves a little more credit," Gladio grunted from his corner of the room. 

"But love is blind, Gladio," Prompto insisted. 

"They're not in love!" Noct snapped. "They're just—I don't know, they're just _dating_. And—" he looked a little pale all of a sudden, "—probably—"

"Fucking?" Gladio volunteered, an eyebrow raised at Noct's sudden outburst. 

"—and—and talking about the economy."

Gladio snorted.

"What do you even think a date with Ignis is _like_?" Prompto asked. It was surprisingly easy to picture Ignis on a date: seated at a restaurant with his legs primly crossed, leaning forward with a dazzling smile on his face. Definitely talking about the economy. 

"Can we stop talking about this?" Noct demanded.

"You're the one who brought it up," Gladio smirked. 

"I bet they go out for fancy dinners," Prompto said. "Or! _No!_ I bet Ignis cooks for him. Uses really fancy imported spices and oils and stuff. And they listen to classical music. There's a candle on the table and they _gaaaaaze_ at each other while drinking really expensive coffee over the candlelight—"

" _Prompto_ ," Noct choked out, and shit, he sounded like he was actually upset. "Enough."

"I was just—" Prompto tried.

"I don't care," Noct told him. "Just—stop, alright?"

"Yeah," he said, just—totally at a loss. "Sure thing, buddy." He didn't even know what he'd done! He opened his mouth to try and fix it, but Gladio shushed him. 

Someone was knocking on the door. Prompto's stomach clenched up with nerves.

"It's Ignis," Noct muttered without looking up. Gladio ignored him and Prompto could almost believe he was really going to be the King's Shield, ready to protect Noct instead of put him in a headlock for once.

The front door opened with a click and Gladio leaned forward.

"Noct?" Ignis's voice came.

"In here," Gladio called.

Ignis walked in seconds later, a bag of groceries in his hands, frowning, his eyes immediately going to Noct. He barely looked up. "Did something happen? There are Crownsguard in the lobby."

Gladio grunted. "I'll tell you later."

Ignis stopped cold, looking from Noct to Gladio with actual concern in his eyes. "Of course," he said, and somehow none of that worry showed up in his tone. "I'll be in the kitchen," and left them to it.

"If you boys will excuse me," Gladio told them, getting up. 

Noct ignored him, his eyes still fixed on the screen. "Get Iggy's phone while you're out there," he ordered. "He needs to download King's Knight."

Gladio snorted. "Sure thing, your highness," he drawled on his way out.

"Your friends are kind of dicks," Prompto said without thinking and felt pretty good about it when Noct laughed, hard.

"You count yourself in that?" he teased.

"Uh, obviously," Prompto said. "I mean, I _am_ your best buddy, right?"

"If you say so," Noct said to his phone, but his mouth was tugged up in a smile. "You done downloading games yet?"

"Two more seconds."

He looked over, full on grinning now. "You ready to get your ass handed to you?" 

"You wish!" Prompto told him. "King's Knight?"

"You know it," Noct smirked. 

They were halfway through a tiebreaker when the low voices in the kitchen took on an edge, getting louder. Prompto glanced over at Noct, but he was just frowning at his screen, tapping furiously. And oh shit, the _game_.

"K.O.," he groaned. "Did you seriously just _summon_ on me?”

Noct snorted, trying to look interested, but he wasn’t really paying attention, his eyes on the door. 

Gladio growled something too low to hear and Ignis countered, quiet but clear, “That’s up to the prince.” 

Noct rolled his eyes, then rubbed at them. He looked tired, and Prompto really wanted to do… _something_. To help, somehow. 

Finally Ignis came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands with a dish towel. "How are you?" he asked softly. Prompto tried not to stare.

"Fine," Noct said. "Nothing even happened." 

Ignis nodded, the towel twisted in his hands. He cleared his throat. “Begging your pardon, Highness. But I—”

“Would you quit calling me that?” he muttered into his hands.

Ignis went quiet for a long second. Then said, “Of course, Noct,” somehow managing to be even _more_ stiff and formal about it. “I had plans tonight. It goes without saying that I will cancel them in light of the situation.”

Noct blinked up at him, frowning. Gladio was leaning in the doorway behind Ignis, his arms crossed and his expression ominous. “Oh. Yeah,” he said, after a long minute. “Your—dinner. With Maritus.”

“Exactly,” Ignis nodded. “Hardly a pressing matter.”

Noct frowned down at his phone. Prompto could see the wheels turning in there, he just had no idea what direction they were going. Ignis was obviously waiting for either orders or permission, and Gladio was looking more and more ready to start a fight. “Right.”

After a few painfully awkward seconds, Ignis gently asked, “Would you like me to stay tonight, Noct?”

“Uh, yeah, actually,” Noct said slowly, still not looking up from his phone. “We’ve got this big history paper coming up—” the one that was due in, like, _two weeks?_ “—and we need to study for the Algebra test. I was hoping you could help.”

“Of course,” Ignis said immediately, sounding relieved instead of pissed. He must have really been worried about the whole thing. 

“Oh, hell no!” Gladio exploded, shoving his way past Ignis to get in Noct’s face. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What?” Noct snapped back. “We have a test! Are _you_ gonna help me with it?”

“No,” Gladio growled, “you’re gonna help yourself. Get your act together and study on your own for once.”

Noct groaned, flopping back onto the bed. “Fine, whatever.”

Gladio straightened up, satisfied. “Go,” he said to Ignis. “Have fun. Get laid.”

Ignis looked shellshocked. “Highne— _Noct_ —”

“Just go,” Noct said, annoyed now. “Have a good time. But we won’t be able to do the four-player dungeons without you.”

Gladio gave Ignis a total _I-told-you-so_ look.

Ignis opened his mouth, and somehow it was clear from his tone that he was only talking to Noct. “Are you _certain?_ ”

Noct waved him off. "Yeah. Go."

Ignis turned to Gladio, looking a little lost. “In that case, dinner is warming in the oven. I’ll have my phone. If anything happens—”

“Nothing’s gonna happen, Iggy,” Gladio said, friendly now. 

Prompto finally found his voice again. “Uh, besides a whole lot of monster-slaying and level-grinding. You’re gonna miss all that sweet, sweet XP, Ignis.”

Ignis’s mouth finally twitched. “I shall try to console myself.” He looked over at Noct, but the guy was glaring at his phone. “Good night, then.”

He left, and as soon he shut the door, Gladio threw himself back into his chair in the corner. “What the hell was that?”

Prompto looked at Noct. “Do you seriously wanna work on your paper? On a _Friday?_ ”

“Whatever,” Noct said, sitting up again, tossing his phone onto the bed. “I just wanted to have a night with my friends. It’s not like I can _go_ anywhere.”

Gladio gave a snort. “Trust me, I ain’t too happy to be here either. At least this way one of us gets to have a good time.”

“I’d have a good time kicking your ass,” Noct muttered.

Gladio grinned. “Any time, any place.”

“Just open the game.”

Gladio pulled out his phone and squinted at it like he’d never seen it before. “Now how does this work?”

It was actually pretty fun, once they'd shown him the basics. Gladio really got into it—maybe a little too into it—and instead of being pissed off that they both had ten levels on him already, he rose to the challenge. They did a few of the dungeons and tried a couple of the other games before Gladio made them go back to King's Knight. They were just about to take another crack at the Mini-Kraken when Gladio’s phone chimed.

“Damn, hold on,” he muttered. And then snorted. 

“What?” Noct asked immediately.

“Iggy,” Gladio answered. “Wants to know if you’re still alive. What should I tell him?”

“Tell him I’m failing Algebra,” Noct said.

“Tell him he got poisoned by the Mini-Kraken and was down to his last HP when I _saved him_ with a super-sweet combo,” Prompto said.

Gladio gave another snort. It was hard to tell if he was amused or just clearing his sinuses. “He’s... fine,” Gladio said, obviously tapping that out. “Give... Maritus... our... love.”

Noct made a face.

“Are you sure he wasn’t looking for an excuse to leave?” Prompto asked. “Maybe that was, like, a distress signal.”

“Kids,” Gladio said. “Please. If Iggy wants out he doesn’t need a royal excuse. Anyway, this guy _must_ be hot if Iggy’s still seeing him.”

Noct made a worse face.

Prompto couldn’t help himself. “Oh yeah?”

_”Oh_ yeah,” Gladio confirmed. 

“Are we gonna fight this thing or not?” Noct demanded.

“Keep your pants on,” Gladio ordered, but he was grinning. “Iggy sure isn’t.”

“Gross!” Noct yelled and threw a pillow at him, while Prompto laughed so hard he nearly fell off the bed.

\- - - - -

Hours later, Noct frowned, trying to focus. He was in the middle of making a really critical decision when Prompto asked, "So do you think Ignis is having sex with that guy right now?"

Noct's thumb jumped. And great, now he'd given his level four character a completely useless combo.

"Like, gay sex?"

" _Prompto_ ," Noct growled. "I'm trying to do something here."

"How does it even work?" Prompto continued, throwing his phone onto the mattress and falling backward dramatically. 

"I don't want to think about it."

Gladio snorted. Noct hoped he was laughing at something on his phone instead of listening in on their conversation. Not that he was expecting much privacy, but he really wasn't looking forward to hearing Gladio's take on it.

"But really," Prompto said, unable to just leave it alone. "Like, what goes where? How do they even decide that?"

"Why don't you ask _them_?" Noct hissed, keeping his voice down. 

"Uh, because I don't want to get stabbed?"

"Ignis wouldn't stab you," Noct said confidently. "Unless you're into that, I mean."

"Dude!" Prompto shouted, sitting up enough to shove at him. Noct fell off the bed with an undignified thump.

Gladio looked down at him before moving on to Prompto, eyebrows arched and a knowing smirk plastered on his face. "Might even give you a demonstration, you ask nice enough."

"What?!" Prompto yelped, backpedaling. "No, I mean, that's not—"

Gladio let out a heavy sigh. "Can't believe Ignis was actually gonna stay here and babysit." He shook his head. "How much trouble could you get up to in one night?"

Noct grinned. "Is that a challenge?"

Gladio looked at him. "Says the prince who's too lazy to get off the floor."

"Only because it's so comfortable," Noct argued.

Gladio snorted but left it alone. "Gonna go crash on the couch," he told them. "If there's a problem—"

"Yeah, okay, got it," Noct said. "If Prompto attacks me again I'll be sure to let you now."

"Hey!" Prompto protested.

Gladio grinned. "He's too scrawny to do any real damage."

" _Hey!_ "

"Which is why I'd better come help him kick your ass."

"Some Shield _you_ are," Noct muttered. "Get out of here, then." He made sure to stay on the floor until Gladio was gone, just to make a point.

That done, Noct hauled himself up and back onto the bed. And now that he remembered how comfortable it was, he closed his eyes for a few seconds, out of appreciation. 

"You're not falling asleep on me, are you buddy?"

Noct forced his eyes open. "No."

"Good," Prompto said, sinking half-way down on the bed next to him, a very serious look on his face. "I was thinking."

"This should be good," he laughed.

"Ignis is probably out there having the time of our life, and it's our duty to make sure this guy is good enough for him."

Great. Here he went.

"Does he appreciate his cooking like we do? His fashion sense? His late night Ebonies? There's no way he can be good enough for our Iggy."

_Our_ Iggy. Noct felt a flash of irritation. "Whatever. I don't want to talk about it. He's happy, that's all that matters."

"If you say so, dude." Prompto rolled over abruptly, holding his phone up. "Another round of King's Knight?"

Noct buried his face in a pillow. Wouldn't be as good without Ignis and Gladio there to back them up. But. He had that character he'd been waiting to level up. 

He turned his head away from the pillow and grinned. "Only if you're ready to _lose_."

"You're on!" Prompto grinned and they played until Noct couldn't hold his phone up anymore, eyes sliding shut, the fight music lulling him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're just going to pretend that the FFXV version of King's Knight is different from the real life one you can download to your actual phone, okay? Okay.


	4. Chapter 4

Ignis woke up before his alarm the next morning and immediately checked his phone for messages. Nothing. Not a word from Gladio on how the night had gone, which meant one of two things: either the night had been without incident, or they had been taken by surprise and been unable to send word for help. 

He checked the news as he prepared for the day, skimming the headlines for anything out of the ordinary. No news, of course, was good news, but perhaps he ought to go to Noct's earlier than he'd originally planned. No reason he couldn't arrive in advance and cook everyone a good breakfast before driving Noctis and Prompto to school. 

He stopped by a small grocer on his way to Noct's apartment, buying enough ingredients to feed four. The Crownsguard in the lobby arched an eyebrow at his grocery bag filled to the brim, but they nodded him on. It was a comfort to see them, but their presence suggested the threat had not yet been neutralized.

Ignis barely waited for an answer after knocking on Noct's door before letting himself in. He did, however, refrain from calling after Noct. He didn't wish to wake him if he was still asleep.

He was not. The three of them were already up and seated on the sofas, frowning at their phones and animatedly tapping at their screens. 

"And how are we," Ignis asked, keeping his tone light, eyes straying towards Noct. The prince's eyes were stuck on his phone, eyebrows furrowed, clearly unhappy to be awake at such an hour, but he was physically safe, at least.

"Nothing happened," Gladio grunted in response to Ignis's other, unspoken question. 

"Ignis!" Prompto grinned, letting his phone drop. "Hey! How was the big night?"

He looked over at Prompto blankly. "I'm sorry?"

"Your date, dude! How did it go?"

He cleared his throat. "Fine, I suppose." The food had been good, but he'd had some trouble concentrating on the conversation, glancing at his phone every few minutes to make sure he hadn't missed some urgent communication from Gladio.

"Where'd you go?" Noct asked, his tone utterly dry. It was difficult to say if he was truly interested or deliberately pushing against Ignis's reluctance to answer. 

"We went to Cenatio," Ignis told him, "a small cafe with a long standing reputation for fine food and beverage."

"So romantic," Prompto sighed wistfully. "A glass or two of expensive wine with dinner."

"That is not the kind of beverage we indulged in," Ignis informed him.

"What?! Why not?"

Ignis stared at him, at a loss for how to answer.

"You didn't even get a little drunk?" he protested. _Whined_ was perhaps closer to the mark. 

"We most certainly did not!" Ignis said, perhaps a touch stronger than appropriate. And even if Maritus had offered, he would have declined. Noctis may have needed him. 

"Did he bring you flowers?" Prompto asked, undeterred. "Or! No! Did _you_ bring _him_ flowers?"

"Neither of us brought anyone flowers," Ignis informed him, a little testily if he were honest.

"Okay, but the food was good, right?"

"Boys," Gladio interjected. "Lay off. Let him have some privacy."

"That's rich," Noct said, "coming from you."

"Let me have this," Prompto begged. "It's not like I'm going to be in a whirlwind romance anytime soon."

Ignis sighed. It had been too much to ask that he got out of this conversation with his dignity intact. "The food was good, although nothing out of the ordinary," he allowed. "I must say I have a new appreciation for a well-made chiffon cake. If only I had been able to ask the owner for the recipe."

"What, he didn't want to give it to you?" Gladio asked.

"I didn't have the chance to ask," Ignis informed him. "I was rather pre-occupied."

"Aw yeah," Prompto grinned, completely misinterpreting Ignis's meaning. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Ugh," Noct muttered, still glaring at his phone. 

"So?" Prompto prompted. "What did you do after dinner?"

Ignis adjusted his glasses. "I don't see how that's—"

"Yeah, Specs," Noct said, surfacing from his game, his words taking on an edge. "What'd you do?"

Ignis took a breath. "We went back to my apartment for a cup of coffee, if you must know." 

Noct looked at him, hair falling into his face, hiding his expression. "Then what?"

Ignis stood his ground, holding his gaze. Noct knew full well how inappropriate the question was, but he didn't so much as blink. "Noctis," he said finally. "A word, if you would."

Noctis gestured lazily. "Go ahead."

"In private," Ignis told him.

He heaved out a sigh, but pushed himself up from the sofa. "Lead the way."

Ignis headed towards Noct's bedroom. Normally he tried to avoid entering without permission, but it was the only room in the apartment with a semblance of privacy, and, more importantly, a door. 

Noct stood facing him, his arms crossed. "What," he asked flatly, no doubt bracing for a well-deserved lecture on tact.

Instead, Ignis told him quietly, "Nothing happened. I sent Maritus home before either of us had finished our coffee."

Noct looked at him blankly. "What? _Why?_ "

"Because I should have been here," Ignis said. "It was wrong of me to leave when you were in danger, and—"

"Ignis," Noct interrupted. "I'm _fine_. Nothing happened."

Ignis set his jaw. Appealing as the sentiment may be, it didn't change the fact he had abandoned his prince in a time of need. "I could never have forgiven myself if anything had happened."

"I _ordered_ you to go," Noct said belligerently.

"Perhaps I should have disobeyed," he said coolly. "It was completely unacceptable behavior on my part and it won't happen again, I assure you."

Noct stared at him, mouth open. "What? Ignis, that's—that's _stupid!_ I'm fine!" He let out a breath, running a hand through his hair. "Gladio was here all night anyway, it's not like I wasn't guarded."

"Yes, well." Ignis took his glasses off, cleaned them, put them back on. "It was an appalling breach of duty."

" _Ugh_ ," Noct groaned. "Whatever. I don't need you to _babysit_ me, okay?" Ignis felt a little lost. This was not the conversation he had been intending to have. "Just—go and enjoy your boyfriend."

Ignis closed his mouth, carefully gathering his thoughts, trying to structure them as clearly and objectively as possible. "Perhaps I misspoke earlier," he tried. "It was impossible to enjoy the evening knowing you were in danger." Noct glared at the floor, his face red. With anger or embarrassment it was hard to say. "It would have been impossible regardless of the activity."

"Sorry," Noct muttered.

"On the contrary," Ignis told him. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

Noct looked up at him, a touch hesitant. "Yeah," he said. "Me too. We really could've used another player in King's Knight."

Ignis blinked and a laugh escaped before he could smother it. "Sounds as if you made excellent progress in your studies," he said straight-faced.

Noct rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. "'Course I did. Got an A+ in tactics _and_ finesse."

He blinked, processing that. "The game grades your fighting technique, does it," he mused.

"Ignis," Noct warned.

"Hmm." He straightened his cuffs, making a mental note for the future. "I suppose we've kept the others waiting long enough. Have you eaten breakfast, yet?"

"Gladio was talking about ordering a pizza."

For _breakfast_. Did the man have no decency? "Perhaps I'd best make a smoked salmon croque-monsieur," he said. "Have you used the smoked salmon, yet?"

"It's all yours," Noct told him, and followed him out the door.

\- - - - -

Gladio had almost given up trying to catch any of their conversation when Noct's door finally opened. The prince came out first, head hanging. And damn, Iggy really must've really read him the riot act.

Ignis didn't _look_ smug, but that was only if you didn't know Iggy like Gladio did. He knew where to look—the little lift at the corner of his mouth, the way he held his head, the fact he wouldn't look Gladio in the eye. Yeah, they'd definitely had words, and Iggy'd come out of it the winner.

And instead of savoring his victory, he immediately made for the kitchen. Pulled out some pans and, even better, started a fresh pot of coffee. Gladio barely managed to wait for it to finish brewing before he got up to get a cup.

Ignis glanced at him. "No problems last night?" he asked quietly.

"None," Gladio grunted, pouring himself out a mug. "Had everything in hand, just like I told you. You gotta learn how to relax."

"Perhaps," and if he'd been about to say anything else, it was cut short by Prompto coming over to help himself to the coffee. 

Iggy cleared his throat. "Now that we're all here, there's something I've been meaning to discuss."

Oh shit, was this about Maritus? They'd just started seeing each other, right? Couldn't be tying the knot _this_ early.

"Noct," he continued, "have you given any thought to your upcoming birthday?"

Oh. Yeah. 

"How could I forget?" Noct muttered. "The royal gala's all anyone at the Citadel wants to talk to me about."

"Wait, what?" Prompto cut in. "The royal what?"

"Gala," Ignis told him. "It's a small, black-tie reception to celebrate his highness's birthday, complete with performances from a handful of the premiere entertainers in Lucis."

"I can't believe you never told me about this, dude!" Prompto exclaimed, turning to Noct.

"Ugh," Noct said. "You wouldn't be so excited about it if _you_ had to sit there and pretend to pay attention to every political and diplomatic doormat in Insomnia."

"I suppose it is a rather dull and political affair," Ignis allowed.

Noct snorted. "It's awful. The only good part is hearing you complain about it afterwards."

"No way, really?" Prompto said, clearly fascinated. Gladio couldn't blame him. Iggy didn't seem the type to badmouth anyone, but he always came away with some good stories after the gala.

Ignis cleared his throat. "Aside from the official reception," he stressed, moving on, "I thought you might want to celebrate your birthday unofficially this year with friends."

"That's right," Gladio grinned, throwing the prince into a loose headlock. "Turning the big eighteen, right?"

"Quit it," Noct muttered, embarrassed at the attention.

Gladio ignored him. "Big day for you. You'll finally be able to drink." Noct rolled his eyes, unimpressed and uninterested. "When is it, again?"

"Two weeks and a day," Ignis informed him cheerfully.

"So we're going out, right?" Prompto asked. "To celebrate?"

" _We?_ " Noct smirked. "I'm older than you."

"Yeah, by _two months!_ " Prompto argued.

"A matter of some legal importance," Ignis said, doing something to the eggs in the pan. 

"Iggy," Gladio growled. Like _hell_ he was going to ruin this for Noct. 

Ignis took a sip of his coffee. "I suppose it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable if we drank in the comfort and privacy of Noct's apartment," he said, as if it was some big concession.

Noct looked like he might actually be considering it. "We're going out," Gladio told him firmly.

"And how do you propose we all get in?" Ignis demanded.

"Don't tell me you never snuck into a club when you were—" he started before remembering who he was talking to. Man had probably never done anything illegal in his life. "There are ways, Iggy. Trust me on this one."

"And you have a doctored license for Prompto already prepared?" Ignis asked, an eyebrow raised accusingly. 

Gladio shrugged. "I'll have money, Crownsguard fatigues, and the prince with me. No one in the city's gonna want to argue."

"Exactly," Ignis bit out. "We will have Noctis with us. A scandal is the last thing we need."

Gladio rolled his eyes. "Give it a rest, Iggy."

"As his advisor, I cannot condone—"

"Noct," Gladio interrupted. "What do _you_ want?"

Ignis shut his mouth with an almost audible snap.

"I want to go out," he said, with as much enthusiasm as he ever had for something that wasn't fishing. 

Ignis's mouth pressed into a firm line, but when he said, "Of course," he somehow managed to get it out with minimal disapproval. "But might I suggest a more thorough plan than bribery?"

Noct crossed his arms, smirking. "You're the master tactician," he said, making it into a challenge. Little asshole had Ignis wrapped around his finger and it was a real pleasure sometimes getting to watch him work. Gladio had never been able to tell if Noct was doing it deliberately or not, but either way, he'd gotten real good at talking Ignis into shit he didn't approve of.

It took Ignis five full seconds to resolve his qualms before he cleared his throat and said, "Very well, then. Gladio will need to create a diversion—"

"I'm liking the sound of this already," Gladio grinned, crossing his arms.

"Uh," Prompto tried. 

"—while Prompto sneaks in, out of view from the distracted bouncer. Once inside, he should be safe."

"Safe from what?" Noct laughed.

"It's a bar, not an Imperial base, Iggy," Gladio agreed.

"Guys?" Prompto tried again.

Ignis adjusted those thick square glasses of his, glaring at Gladio all the while. "And what do _you_ suggest?"

"Guys," Prompto said again, more firmly this time. "I have a fake ID."

Ignis _looked_ at him.

"Whoa, really?" Noct asked, oblivious to the coming crisis. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"The better question," Ignis said coolly, "is why you have one in the first place." 

Prompto paled. Truly was amazing how he managed to look so threatening while cutting up smoked salmon.

"Leave him alone," Gladio said. "He's seventeen, of course he has a fake ID."

" _Noctis_ does not have a fake ID," Igins said, rounding on Noct. 

"Only because you would've lectured me for a month," Noct muttered. 

" _Indeed_." Iggy's voice was like ice. Gladio was just glad it wasn't him Ignis wasn't looking at, for once. 

"I just wanted to see if I could do it," Prompto said miserably. "There are a bunch of card printers at my mom's work, so, uh."

"And she knows about this?" He sounded ready to sic the Crownsguard on Prompto's mom.

"What? No! I'd gone to help her out a bit and I think she forgot I was there." 

Ignis gave him an unreadable look. "Do you have the card on you?"

Prompto shifted, clearly uncomfortable.

"I merely wish to look at it," Ignis said, somehow managing to sound both offended and condescending. 

"Yeah, let's see it," Noct said, leaning in. 

Prompto let out a dramatic sigh, shoulders hunching, but he pulled his wallet out, shuffling through it for a second before finally handing an ID over to Noct. Gladio took a step closer, leaning in over Noct's shoulder to get a good look at the thing. Nothing about it looked weird.

"This is the fake one?" he had to ask.

Prompto nodded. 

"And you made it?"

Prompto glanced over at Ignis. "I mean, well, yeah."

"Damn," Gladio told him approvingly, and Prompto grinned, quick and bright.

"May I?" Ignis said, holding a hand out and Noct passed it over. He turned it over, giving it a closer inspection than any bouncer would, his expression giving away nothing. "Impressive," he murmured finally. 

"Really? You think?" Prompto asked eagerly.

"It should suffice," Ignis pronounced.

Prompto's grin spread across his face. The poor kid must've never heard a compliment in his life, if that got him excited.

"We could go to the King's Armory," Gladio suggested. "No one would bother us there."

And great, now Iggy'd turned that disapproving look on him. "I doubt the Crownsguard would be happy to have royalty drinking with them," he drawled.

"The Crownsguard?" Prompto blurted. 

"Yeah," Gladio told him. "The King's Armory is their favorite bar." He turned back to Ignis, returning the glare. "ID or not, at least we know they wouldn't cause a scandal if the prince and his underage friend showed up. 'Specially not on the prince's birthday." Ignis's expression didn't change. " _And_ we'd know he'd be safe."

Noct crossed his arms, frowning at the floor. Whatever was going on in his head, he wasn't sharing. Gladio wondered if there was even anything in there, some days. 

"The point remains," Ignis said dryly, " _we_ may spoil _their_ fun."

"We're fun," Prompto protested. "Super fun! I mean, it's not like King Regis is coming or anything. Noct is cool."

Gladio ignored that, taking a good look at Iggy, figure out what his problem was. They'd gone to the King's Armory together once and it went pretty damn well. At least, he'd thought it had. The Crownsguard worked hard and partied harder, and every one of them was hot as hell. The last he'd seen, Ignis had been chatting away with the bartender, legs crossed primly and his head thrown back with laughter. He'd had a good time and thought Iggy did too, but ever since, he couldn't convince him to go back. 

"The Crownsguard have a certain reputation for carousal," Ignis was telling Prompto.

"They probably wouldn't even notice we were there," Gladio argued.

"I will not have Noctis involved in a brawl the day he turns of age," Ignis intoned, "particularly not with those sworn to protect him."

"What _ever_ ," Noct muttered.

"Then it's settled," Ignis said decisively. "We'll go to Aphorora."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Gladio growled. "You're not taking Noct to some frou frou gentlemen's club—"

"It's close to Noct's living quarters," Ignis cut in, "casual but still upscale, with a wide selection of drinks. The servers will likely recognize Noctis without causing a fuss."

"But—" Prompto tried. "The Crownsguard."

"You can see plenty of them at the Citadel," Ignis informed him. "Shall I make a reservation at Aphorora, then?"

Noct shrugged. "Whatever. It's fine." He rubbed at his wrist absently. "Thanks, Specs," and hesitated, looking like there was more. "You can—if you want, you can bring—"

"You have a test scheduled tomorrow," Ignis cut in, too focused on babysitting the prince to pay attention to what Noct was actually saying. Not that it was a bad thing, maybe Noct would finally learn how to speak up. "And dinner with your father in a week. Perhaps our celebration would best wait until two weeks from now. Will you be free, Prompto?"

"Definitely!" Prompto grinned. "There's no way I'd miss the chance to see Noct get drunk."

Ignis paused, obviously fighting the compulsion to be a wet rag and inform everyone Noct was only going to _sample_ the beverages. "Gladio?"

"I'm free," he shrugged.

"Very well. I shall make the reservation, then." 

Noct had a weird look on his face as Ignis turned away, phone in hand. "Bring Maritus," he blurted at Iggy's back. "If you want."

Ignis turned back to look at him. "Why would I want that?" he said gently. 

"Because you're dating?" Noct asked, his voice cracking.

Huh. Maybe Ignis was right and Noct really was taking this dating thing poorly.

"And Friday night I will be having dinner with my friends," Ignis said firmly. If you'll excuse me," and picked up his phone to make reservations, dialing with one hand and sauteeing with the other.

\- - - - -

Prompto waited until Noct had disappeared inside his room to get ready for school before he made his approach. "Hey, uh, thanks for breakfast," he told Ignis. It seemed like a good start. Ignis briefly stopped scrubbing at the pan to look at him, one eyebrow raised elegantly.

"My pleasure," he said after the briefest pause. "I hope you found it to your liking."

"Yeah!" Prompto grinned. "Definitely." He tapped his fingers on the counter. "I, uh, I was wondering…"

Ignis finished the dish he was on and set it aside to dry. "Yes?" 

"Just—I still don't have a gift for him, yet. I’ve been trying to get some hints about what he wants, but you know what he's like.”

Ignis gave a little sigh, starting on the next dish. “Unfortunately.”

“Do you have any ideas? I mean, what are _you_ getting him?" Prompto thought about it. " _Do_ you even get him anything, or would that be weird since he’s basically your boss?”

“He is also my friend,” he said, sounding faintly irritated. He pushed his glasses up with a soapy hand. “I ordered a set of custom lures, handmade in Altissia. Hand-painted with real Trevally scales and woven with coeurl whiskers, they’ve a reputation for being both effective and remarkably durable.”

“Whoa,” Prompto said. “Noct’s gonna lose his mind.”

Ignis looked pleased.

No way was Prompto going to be able to give him anything _that_ cool. “Man, no way do I know enough about fishing to get him anything like that." And he _definitely_ didn't have the money. "As soon as he starts talking rods and reels I lose him. So, uh, you must be into fishing too, huh?”

“Not at all,” Ignis said cheerfully, “though I do have a taste for fresh seafood.”

“Oh,” Prompto said. “You sure sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

“I do, to the best of my ability. It’s my duty to stay informed about anything of interest to his Highness.”

“So you must have some pretty good ideas about what he'd want for his birthday,” Prompto suggested hopefully.

Ignis winced, finishing up the last dish. “Perhaps, although as his friend you may be better informed about a …fun gift." As if Noct wasn't going to have the time of his life with those fishing lures. "Let’s approach this logically, shall we? Can you think of anything he needs?”

Prompto groaned. "That's the problem. Anything he needs—anything he _wants_ —anything he even _thinks_ about wanting he can just get himself."

Ignis poured himself a cup of coffee. "So you need to deduce a present he doesn't know about but will nonetheless enjoy."

"Exactly," Prompto said fervently, then had to go back over Ignis's words to make sure he'd understood him right. "Exactly."

"Hmm," Ignis mused. "What do you know he likes?"

“Animals,” Prompto started, ticking it off on his fingers. “King’s Knight. Lady Lunafreya. Gladio, sometimes, when he’s not being a jerk.”

“Rarely, then,” Ignis drawled, and Prompto laughed. Ignis looked subtly pleased, and maybe Noct was right and the dude _did_ have a sense of humour. Time to start practicing his puns, see if he could win the guy over. 

“You,” he added, continuing the list. “Oh, and his dad. That’s pretty much it. Everything else gets The Shrug.”

“The shrug?” Ignis asked.

“You know the one,” Prompto told him.

Another sigh. “I’m afraid so.”

“Man,” Prompto said, burying his head in his hands. “Sometimes it seriously sucks that my best buddy’s the prince. I just don’t have that much to offer.”

Ignis was quiet for a sec, probably thinking about how Prompto talked way too much, except then he said, “Noct appreciates your friendship—and your company—more than you know.”

Prompto's face heated up. “R-really? You think so?”

“Perhaps a collection of some of your best photographs," Ignis suggested, "or a print framed for the wall of his flat. It’s still rather sparsely decorated.”

“You really think he’d like that? He won’t think it’s cheesy?”

“Not at all,” Ignis assured him, taking a sip of coffee.

“Man," Prompto said, ideas spilling out of his mouth almost as fast as he could think of them. "I could, like, print a book with shots from some of our favourite spots in the city. Or, like, maybe use that one of all four of us from the festival last year? I had it as my phone background for a while.”

“Indeed," Ignis agreed.

"Or—" Prompto started.

"Noct," Ignis cut in, leaning to the side and looking over Prompto's head, "was there something you needed?"

"I can't find my math book," Noct groaned from behind him.

Oh shit, that was close. "Uh, yeah dude," Prompto said, trying to keep his voice casual, "'cause you left it in your locker, remember?"

A second of silence. "Oh. Yeah."

Ignis snorted quietly. It somehow sounded fondly amused. "Almost ready?"

"Yep," Noct said. "Just about."

"Good," Ignis said, glancing over at the stove clock. "We're running late as it is."

"I'll be ready," Noct promised. "Just one more minute."

Ignis sighed, sharing a look with Prompto. 

"No worries," Prompto told him. "Our history teacher is usually late anyway."

"Practicing what he teaches, I see," Ignis murmured.

Prompto laughed. "Thanks again," he said. "For breakfast. And the rest."

"Anytime," Ignis said smoothly, and then, louder, "Noctis—"

"I'm ready," Noct grumbled, emerging from his room with his hair even messier than it had been earlier. 

Prompto grinned. He had two weeks to plan the perfect gift. Scrapbook or print? He couldn't wait for Noct to open it either way.

"Alright," Noct said grimly, grabbing his backpack and the travel mug of coffee Ignis had prepared for him. "Let's do this."

Two weeks. Prompto was already stoked.


	5. Chapter 5

Noct spent the next week trying to be cool about the whole boyfriend thing. It didn't help that Ignis was still being weird, stiff, and formal and instead of weird, stiff, and familiar. He'd gone on another date, too. "To make up for my inexpressibly rude behaviour on our last evening out," he'd insisted. But at least Prompto was talking nonstop about Noct's upcoming birthday party instead of about Ignis's stupid boyfriend. 

Friday was his night out with the guys, tomorrow was the big boring gala, but tonight, his actual birthday, was dinner with his dad. 

They used to eat together in a cold, echoing hall at a table for ten. When Noct got old enough to complain about it, his dad found them a small room with a small table, just big enough for four. It was one of Noct's favorite places in the Citadel. It didn't get used often, but when it did, it was always just for them. And sometimes Ignis, but tonight he was off with his boyfriend again. 

He found his dad there, already seated and waiting for him.

"Hey," Noct greeted. Felt kind of awkward, all of a sudden. It'd been awhile since they'd had dinner alone.

"Noctis," he said warmly, and got up, moving forward to embrace him. "Happy birthday." He held him there for a minute before finally pulling away to look at him. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah," Noct laughed. "What's for dinner?"

"Your favorite. Chicken and corn chowder with roasted carrots and a caesar salad."

Noct grimaced. "Very funny."

Regis blinked. "I'm afraid I don't see the joke."

Noct paled. "Are you serious?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Roasted carrots?" Noct protested. He already felt sick. "A— _salad_? What if we went out, instead."

Regis laughed, hard. It wasn't even funny. "I'm sorry, Noctis. I told Attoreo to make that rice bowl you like so much."

He wasn't sure that made up for how bad that joke was. "I guess."

"And chocolate cake for dessert."

"That's more like it," Noct told him.

"They'll be up shortly with the food, I'm sure. Would you like a coffee while we wait?"

Noct hesitated. It never tasted as good as Ignis's, but if his dad wanted to make it… "Sure."

"Come, sit," Regis instructed, busying himself with his personal coffee pot. "How are you? How has your summer been?"

"Fine."

He nodded, like that had told everything he'd wanted to know. "And how is your friend, Prompto?"

"Same as ever," Noct told him. "Pretty excited about this new camera he got. His photos look really good."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said warmly. "I'd like to see some them sometime."

"Sure. I bet he'd like that." If it didn't give him a panic attack.

They fell into a brief but comfortable silence, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. Regis poured them both a cup, adding only a drop of cream and too much sugar. Noct took it, though, warmth pooling between his hands like royal magic. 

"Another year older," Regis said contemplatively, taking his seat with only a little stiffness. "What have you learned this year?"

Noct groaned. "Really? We're doing this?"

"We really are."

Ugh. Noct wondered if everyone else's dad was like this, or if it was just his. "I learned Ignis has a boyfriend," he muttered.

Regis's eyebrows twitched. "Does he? What wonderful news."

"Yeah," Noct muttered. "It's—" _great_ , he was going to say, but he couldn't quite spit it out. "Everyone thinks it's great, but what do we know about this guy? We haven't even _met_ him. Maybe he sucks."

Regis looked at him for a minute, long enough Noct squirmed a little in his seat. "And if he does?"

"Does _what_ ," he demanded.

Regis' mouth quirked like it did whenever Noct did something stupid and immature and he thought it was funny. "Suck."

Noct let out a noise of frustration. "It's—it's not that," he tried. "I'm just saying—"

Regis waited patiently. 

"Ignis deserves better."

"You haven't met his boyfriend," Regis pointed out. "Perhaps he's a wonderful man."

"Oh sure, take his side," Noct muttered.

"I hadn't realized there were sides to be taken."

"Just—quit it, would you?"

Regis smiled, his eyes crinkling a little. "I apologize for not taking this seriously enough. What is your concern?"

He didn't know what his concern was, that was the problem. He just didn't want Ignis to leave. "I don't know."

"It sounds to me like you might be jealous," Regis offered, sliding the idea across the table like it was a peace treaty. 

"What?" Noct tried, laughing.

"He's your friend," Regis told him. "And you have never liked sharing."

Noct glared at his mug of coffee, face warm. "I share just fine."

Regis arched his eyebrows.

"Okay, maybe—maybe it's something I need to work on," he muttered, stealing one of his teachers' favorite phrases. "I don't see what it has to do with Specs."

Regis let out an undignified snort. Oh yeah, he hadn't heard the new nickname, yet. "Specs?"

"Yeah," Noct grinned. "He complained the last time I came to a council meeting and called him Iggy in front of everyone." He'd been mostly cool about it. He'd just given him that patented _Ignis_ look and said, _Rather unprofessional, don't you think,_ in his driest Ignis voice. 

"So you've come up with something better, then?"

Noct grinned at him. "You know it."

Regis laughed, nodding approvingly. "A king must listen to his subjects and take their concerns into consideration, without compromising his own values," he said sagely and then ruined it by winking.

"And not taking himself too seriously?"

"You know it," Regis said, quoting it back to him. He even almost got the inflection right.

Dinner arrived, a good thick curry, with plenty of meat and rice and no vegetables at all. Noct dug in. He'd managed to almost forget the whole boyfriend thing when his dad brought it up all over again.

"Does this boyfriend have a name?" Regis asked, eating some gross looking green leaves that they'd brought up specially for him.

"Maritus," Noct said, his mouth full of food.

"It's good to hear he's finally found someone," Regis said, like Noct wasn't right there. "He's always worked so hard. I'm glad he's managed to find some balance between work and happiness in his life."

"Why does everyone keep talking like I'm this huge burden?" Noct demanded and his dad's face softened. Somehow that made it hurt even more. 

He reached across the table to squeeze Noct's hand. "You are not the burden. Never doubt that. But it does not mean the work itself is not tiring." He shook his head. "Ignis cares very deeply for you." Noct waited for the rest of it, the rice bowl sitting heavy in his stomach. "Even the best of friends need time away from each other, though."

There it was. Noct glared at his plate. "I know."

"Then what is this about?"

"I don't know!" Noct yelled. "I just want everyone to shut up about it!" He took a breath, willing his voice to stay even. "I just want things to go back to the way they were."

His dad nodded, calm as ever. "How have things changed?"

_Ugh._ Noct didn't want to think about this anymore. His dad always did this. Whenever Noct went to him with a problem, instead of just _fixing_ it, like Ignis did, he would ask a bunch of questions until Noct either gave up or figured it out on his own anyway. 

So instead of answering the question, he just said, "Ignis is going to an art gallery."

"I see," Regis said gravely. "A new and troubling development."

"He's going with _Maritus_ ," Noct argued, not sure why he was even bothering. His dad thought this was wonderful, just like everyone else.

"It should make for a pleasant date," Regis nodded. "I went there with your mother once." Noct did not need to know that. "I hope he enjoys himself. I always thought that boy needed to get out of the Citadel more often."

"Get away from me, you mean," Noct said. He couldn't leave it alone, like picking out a fresh scab. "He doesn't need to go on dates to get out, we go out plenty together on our own."

Regis arched an eyebrow. "I think there may be a slight difference," he said mildly, "unless there is something else you wish to tell me about your relationship with Ignis."

Noct's cheeks felt hot. "No! Dad! We're not—it's not like that at all."

Regis looked at him for a moment. "Of course not." He took a bite of his salad, chewing thoughtfully. "Did you know when Ignis was your age, Councilwoman Obsidium tried to set him up with her grandson?" he asked. Noct had never liked her. And great, now his dad was completely off topic. "He seemed so uncomfortable I thought I might have to step in." He took another bite.

Noct couldn't help himself. "Really?" 

"Fortunately, I didn't have to. He stammered out something about his work—" Regis gave him a meaningful look, "about his duty to you—and she let it go." 

"I get it, okay? He needs to get away from me. You don't have to keep rubbing it in my face."

Regis sighed. "I had only meant to point out that you're important to him. Give him time. Young love can be very consuming. I'm sure he seems very enthusiastic, perhaps even single-minded about his new romance right now." 

…maybe. He didn't seem nearly as excited or single-minded about it as Prompto and Gladio were, though.

"But once that first flame cools, things will settle down again." 

At least he'd stopped going on about how great Ignis's boyfriend was. "Yep. Sure," Noct said, ready and willing to move on. "So how's your summer been?"

Regis sighed. "As good as possible, I suppose. I'm sure Ignis has been keeping you up to date on the ongoing negotiations with Niflheim and the turmoil in Galahd?"

Noct let out a breath. "Yeah. I mean. He's been trying, anyway."

Regis looked at him, clearly about to say something before changing his mind. "It has been draining, if I am honest. I'll be glad when it's finished."

"No kidding," Noct muttered. Maybe he'd actually be able to be home more often. 

They finished dinner in relative quiet, the dishes being cleared away and the dessert brought in.

"Are you doing anything fun for your birthday? Besides have dinner with your father, of course," Regis smiled, like he'd just made a great joke. 

"Yeah," Noct said and glanced away. "Uh, me and Prompto and everyone are going out. For drinks."

Regis's eyebrows lifted. "That does sound fun," he said. "And does 'everyone' include Ignis and Gladiolus?"

"Yep."

"Good," he said, relieved. "Good. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. Remember to drink lots of water—"

" _Dad_ ," Noct interrupted.

Regis laughed. "I didn't want to hear my father's advice, either." He took a bite of the cake, savouring it. "Mm. Chef Attoreo has truly outdone himself this time."

"Of course," Noct said. "I'm worth celebrating."

Regis laughed. "Indeed. I should be thanking _you_ for being born and giving us cause for celebration."

"Any time."

One of his dad's retainers appeared, looking resigned. "Excuse me, your Majesty, I do apologize, but a situation has come up."

Regis sighed. "What is it? If it can wait—"

"Secretary Claustra is on the phone." The servant cleared her throat. "I told her you were in a meeting, but she was quite insistent."

"Of course," Regis sighed, taking one last bite of cake before he got up, leaning heavily on his cane. He glanced at Noct. "I'm sorry. Perhaps we can make it up soon."

Noct nodded, standing up. He'd heard that before.

"Keep me updated on the situation with Ignis. I doubt he would be willing to share anything with an old man like me."

"Sure," Noct shrugged. Didn't bother pointing out that Ignis wasn't telling Noct much to begin with. 

Regis pulled him into another embrace. "Happy birthday, Noct. I'm very proud of you, you know."

"Quit it," Noct muttered into his shoulder. He held on tight for another second, his dad warm and solid and familiar. "…Thanks."

Regis pulled away, giving Noct's shoulder one last squeeze before letting go.. "Enjoy your party. Don't make a scene."

Noct laughed. "Don't count on it," he said and sat down to finish his cake.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter in particular leans pretty heavily on Brotherhood: Bittersweet Memories (i.e., Ignis's episode from Brotherhood).

One week after Noct's official birthday and an hour and a half later than expected, Ignis let himself into Noct’s apartment. It was an unfortunate day to be running late, but Noctis didn't seem to mind. He was sprawled on the couch next to Prompto, laughing and awake.

“Finally,” Noct groaned.

“Apologies,” Ignis told him, rolling up his sleeves and bracing himself to look in the refrigerator. “There was an unscheduled briefing that ran long. Recent rumours of Niflheim sympathizers in Galahd—”

“Sounds riveting,” Noct interrupted, "but we're still on for tonight, right?"

"Of course," Ignis said.

“You couldn’t just tell them there was a family emergency?” Prompto asked. "Get out early? Or, uh, on time, I guess?"

Ignis looked at him. “An emergency?"

"Uh, yeah, dude," Prompto said. "It's Noct's birthday."

“Technically—” Ignis began.

“— _party_ ,” Prompto finished. “Way more important!”

Ignis sighed. It didn't seem worth the effort to argue. “I’ll begin dinner immediately.”

"Don't bother," Noct shrugged. “We’ll eat there.”

“A fine idea. I believe Gladio said he would meet us there. Are you ready to go?”

“Hold on,” Noct said. “You’re wearing that?”

Ignis blinked, looking down at himself. “Is there something wrong with my attire?”

“Aren’t those your work clothes?”

_I will be working_ , Ignis refrained from saying. “They’re perfectly appropriate for leisure.”

“Everyone's going to think you work there,” Noct said, amused. “I don’t want to get interrupted all night by people ordering drinks.”

Prompto laughed loudly. “Knowing you, you’ll make them, too.”

Ignis shot him a quelling look before turning his attention back to the prince. “I suppose I could remove my vest," he mused.

“That's not gonna cut it," Noct said reprovingly.

“Tell me that’s not what you wear when you go out with Maritus,” Prompto added.

Ignis took a deep breath. “As a matter of fact, it's not.” It felt more like a confession than it should have.

Noct gave a firm nod. “So wear that.”

Ignis _looked_ at him. “I’m afraid I don’t have my wardrobe at hand.”

“We can stop at your place on the way,” Noct said carelessly. 

“Totally!” Prompto piped up. “I’m dying to see your crib.”

“My ‘crib’ is on the other side of town,” Ignis pointed out.

Noct considered that. “I guess you could wear some of my clothes.”

By the Stars. “I’ll drive,” Ignis said. Noct grinned, warm and smug.

\- - - - -

Noct climbed out of the car and followed Ignis into his apartment complex, trying to remember if he'd ever been here before. The outside looked like all the other buildings in this part of the city: a little run down but in good repair. The inside, at least, was clean, with well-lit halls. Ignis took a second to unlock his door—with a real _key_ , not a card, like at Noct's—and walked in, Noct and Prompto trailing in behind him.

Noct hesitated in the doorway, tugging his boots off and taking a quick look around. It felt—weird, kind of. He’d been in Ignis’s room back at the Citadel plenty of times. Tons when they were kids, and then, when he'd gotten older, as a place to hide from his tutors. 

It really seemed like he should have been in here before, but none of it felt familiar. 

The place didn’t even look like it was Ignis’s. “Did you just move here?” he asked. The walls were mostly bare and the curtains were a shade of beige he couldn’t imagine Ignis putting up with for long. 

“A year ago,” Ignis said, heading into the bedroom. “It’s closer to the Citadel than my last flat.”

“It’s nice,” Prompto said, a little too enthusiastically. Then, leaning in to whisper, “It’s like half the size of your _living room!_ Are you paying him enough?" He stopped for a second, considering. "Are you paying him at _all?_ ”

Noct gave him a shove. “Of course he gets paid."

“It better be a lot,” Prompto laughed. “You’re a full time job.” 

Noct punched him on the arm, hard enough Prompto winced, and they followed Ignis into the bedroom. He was standing in front of an open wardrobe that seemed to be full of identical white shirts and dark suits with a sliver of color at one end. He was looking them over like he was choosing a wine to go with dinner.

At least his bedroom felt a little more lived in than the rest of the apartment. There were a couple of books and an extra pair of glasses on the nightstand, the frames sleeker than his current pair. The bed was made, the sheets perfectly white and pressed, and it occurred to Noct that Iggy probably didn’t have staff doing that for him. He had to wash his sheets himself. And iron them, from the looks of it. 

It looked really comfortable, like it'd never even been slept in, the sheets clean and the pillow soft, so he crawled on top and settled in. It didn’t occur to him until he’d sprawled out that Ignis had probably brought his boyfriend here. And—other people, maybe. Other guys. 

Maritus had seen Ignis’ apartment. He'd hung out with him here. They'd probably even… done— _stuff_ here together and Noct hadn't even _been_ here before.

Prompto threw himself onto the bed next to him, breaking Noct's train of thought, and bounced back up, crossing his legs and leaning forward like he was waiting for a show. Ignis glanced at them before turning back to the wardrobe, considering his options. He finally picked out a few shirts—one pale blue and the other… purple?—and a couple other things with a sigh. He nodded, draping them over his arm like he was out shopping, and turned to look at them expectantly.

Noct gestured at him. “Go ahead. Let’s see what you got.”

Ignis looked at him for a very long minute, then turned and went into the bathroom to change.

“Aw,” Prompto said. 

Noct sat up, trying not to think about Ignis getting dressed up for dates with Maritus. Going out for dinner with Maritus, maybe even having drinks with him. And then coming back here. He rolled over to get a look at the books on the nightstand, instead. _The Fall of Solheim_ , which looked to be about nine hundred boring pages long, and _The Fenestela File_ , which was a… spy novel? “No way,” he muttered.

Prompto peered over his shoulder and picked up the glasses. “Designer frames? Who _is_ this guy?” He slid the glasses on, probably trying to look smart and sophisticated and mostly managing to look cross-eyed. “How do I look?”

“Oh, super hot,” Noct said, trying to keep a straight face. 

“Shut up!” Prompto yelled. He pretty much threw the glasses off, flushing red, and knocked over the lamp in the process.

Noct grabbed for it, laughing. Caught it but overbalanced, grabbing at the nightstand to steady himself and pulling open the little drawer by accident. He got the lamp upright again and an accidental glimpse of the drawer's contents.

He immediately slammed it shut, but the knowledge was already burned into his brain: Ignis had an open box of condoms in there. 

“Dude,” Prompto whispered in awe, his eyes wide as saucers.

Ignis’s voice came through the door, muffled but unmistakably disapproving. “Everything alright out there?”

They both yelled something that was supposed to be reassuring but came out mostly incoherent.

“Was that _lube?_ ” Prompto hissed, totally red now, all the way to the tips of his ears. 

“Shut up,” Noct hissed back.

“What _kind?_ ”

Noct grit his teeth. “He’ll hear you!”

“Was it _flavoured?_ ” Prompto asked, and just then the bathroom door opened and Ignis stepped out. 

They both flailed, trying to hide the nightstand from view and just getting tangled up with each other instead.

Ignis looked at them, opened his mouth, and then very obviously decided not to ask. He spread his arms. “Does _this_ meet the royal standard?”

Noct blinked, looking. He was wering the purple shirt, the sleeves rolled up and the top button undone. He stared, and kept staring, until Ignis finally cleared his throat. “Purple coeurl print,” Noct heard himself say, easy and appreciative. “Nice.”

“Yeah,” Prompto echoed, a little breathless. “Wow.”

Ignis cleared his throat again, fiddling with his sleeves. He fixed his collar. Adjusted his glasses. “Shall we, then?”

“Hell _yeah_ ,” Prompto said. “Way to go, _Ignis_.”

Noct grinned. “This is gonna be awesome,” he said.

“I’m so excited I need to pee,” Prompto announced, disappearing into the bathroom. He hadn’t even closed the door before he said, “Oh. Em. Gee. Ignis. I’m in _awe_ of your skincare regimen.”

Ignis shut his eyes, looking pained.

“And is this _styling gel?_ Dude!” He popped back out, holding up a small black container of _Le Dincht_ like it was a torch. “You’ve been holding out!”

Ignis took it from him carefully. “And what do you expect me to do with this?”

“Uh, whatever you usually do on date night? We want the whole package!”

Ignis over at Noct, his eyes begging. “Do it,” Noct ordered, and they all crowded into the bathroom. 

Ignis took just a little of it, trying not to elbow either of them while he put it in and did this sort of... slicking up-and-back thing. 

It showed his eyes a little better. Made him look older and younger at the same time. “Not bad,” Noct approved.

Ignis gave a small, uncomfortable sigh.

“Okay,” Prompto said, “but have you considered—” And reached out, making a mess of it despite Ignis's protests, and spiked it straight up. “Oh yeah,” Prompto grinned. “There it is."

It actually looked... cool. Stylish, even. Noct gave a slow nod. “You got it.”

Ignis let out a breath. He was definitely redder than usual. Hard to tell if it was embarrassment or irritation. “Are we finished? Will anyone _else_ be getting a makeover tonight?" He adjusted his sleeves, turning to look at Noct pointedly. "The prince, perhaps?”

Noct laughed. “Why try to improve on perfection?”

“Hold up,” Prompto said, scampering out into the bedroom and coming back with the other pair of glasses. “The _piece de resistance_ ,” he said, in the worst Altissian accent Noct had ever heard, handing them to Noct. 

Noct laughed, reaching out to pull Iggy’s specs off. Ignis blinked, squinting just a bit, his eyes dark and close. It was hard to tell how much he could see, and it took Noct a second to make himself slide the new pair on. 

As soon as he had, Ignis straightened up and backed away, immediately readjusting his glasses. He looked himself over in the mirror and actually seemed halfway satisfied. “Very well,” he said finally. “Shall we?”

“We definitely shall,” Noct said.

Prompto shooed them out of the bathroom. When he came back out, he was practically skipping, he was so excited. "You driving tonight, Ignis?"

“We’re taking a cab,” Noct answered before Ignis could.

“I am perfectly capable of driving,” Ignis said, stiff and stuffy.

Noct grinned at him. “You won’t be by the time we’re ready to leave.”

“I don’t intend to drink,” Ignis said, even more stiffly.

“What, afraid you can’t hold your liquor?”

“I am quite certain I can hold it better than _you_ ,” Ignis informed him, and as soon as it was out of his mouth, Noct could tell he regretted it.

Noct smirked at him. “You’re on.”

Ignis winced, then squared his shoulders, shoved his new glasses up, and called them a cab.


	7. Chapter 7

All of Ignis's plans and counterplans turned out to be for naught. The bouncer let them in with barely a glance. It was difficult to say if she even recognized the prince in their midst or if she simply didn't care.

They found Gladio already seated at a table, appropriately adjacent to the fire exit and with as good a view of the entrance as could be expected from a dimly-lit drinking establishment. Menus had been set out for the four of them, and Gladio had naturally already ordered a beverage, a pint of half-drunk lager sitting in front of him.

“Daaaamn, Iggy,” Gladio drawled as they approached, letting his eyes crawl over Ignis’ clothes and hair for a frankly excessive length of time. They were simply _clothes._ “Looking good. You planning to meet up with Maritus later?”

The prince climbed into his seat and grimaced, as though he’d sat in something unpleasant, or perhaps received word of a poor test mark.

“I’m simply dressed for the occasion,” Ignis said pointedly, taking a seat.

“I did his hair,” Prompto said, immensely proud of himself.

Gladio snorted. “And he let you?”

“Of course,” Prompto said. “He wants to look his best for Noct’s big night.”

Gladio was extremely skeptical. “Does he, now?”

“He wanted to wear his butler clothes,” Noct complained, and Gladio threw his head back laughing.  
   
“If we’re quite finished discussing my fashion choices,” Ignis informed them, “perhaps we could order?”

Gladio grunted, leaning forward to give the menu a glance. “What’re you gonna drink?” he asked Noct. “Looks like they’ve got some good choices.”

Noct frowned at the menu. "I don't know, maybe I'll try one of everything."

"That is _hardly_ advisable," Ignis cut in, before this could get out of hand. "May I recommend a nice wine or perhaps one of the aged whiskeys?"

"Ooh," Prompto said, delighted. "A competition!" He posed dramatically, bringing a hand near his mouth as though he were holding a microphone. "Who will win Noct's favor—and his taste buds—tonight?"

"And there's only one way to find out," Noct agreed, his eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Looks like we'll have to try them all."

Ignis swallowed back his protests. It was, after all, Noct's birthday. He could waste it in whatever manner he chose.

"Alright, gentlemen," Prompto said, rubbing his hands together. "Pick your favorite beverage and may the best alcohol win."

\- - -

Thirty minutes later, the servers came with their food and another round of drinks, their arms laden with dishes. They had ordered a plethora of appetizers at Prompto's suggesting, and Noct and Gladio had added to the feast with a separate meal each. 

"Oh em gee," Prompto said reverently, "look at this. Everything smells amazing." He promptly removed a french fry from its platter, dipping it in some kind of spicy mayonnaise concoction. "So good." He ate another french fry, stopping long enough to take an enthusiastic drink of beer before asking, "So how was the royal birthday gala? I asked Noct, but his answer was boring."

Noct groaned. "Because the gala _is_ boring."

Prompto ignored him, glancing at Ignis, then Gladio. "But you guys got to go too, right?"

"Sure," Gladio shrugged. "Gotta be there in case someone has beef with his highness. And Iggy makes sure Noct doesn't forget everyone's name or cause a diplomatic crisis." He reached across the table, removing a meat skewer from its plate.

"Hey," Noct protested. "I'm not _that_ bad."

"I believe it was during his sixteenth birthday celebration that he nodded off mid-conversation," Ignis said, gazing into the distance, "gravely offending District Governor Parvus."

Prompto laughed. "Sounds like Noct, alright."

Noct made a face, taking a drink. 

"Past your bedtime, huh, buddy?" Prompto grinned at him. 

"Shut up," Noct muttered, grabbing a french fry. 

"The district governor had a rather lengthy treatise on the necessity of enforcing municipal sewage codes, as I recall," Ignis continued, keeping his expression straight. "One of his few passions in life."

Gladio laughed loudly. "Think I remember him. He the guy with the eyebrows?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific," Ignis said primly. "Most of the people in attendance fit that description."

"Really bushy," Gladio said, finishing off his skewer. "And white. Could spot 'em from a mile away."

"That's the one," Noct yawned. "Puts me to sleep just thinking about him."

"Did you at least get to meet anyone cool?" Prompto asked. "Or famous?"

"Is District Governor Parvus not famous?" Ignis asked innocently and Noct laughed. Prompto glanced between them, most likely trying to decide if Ignis was joking before finally allowing himself a small, nervous laugh.

"You met that singer," Gladio pointed out.

"Yeah," Noct groaned, "that _opera_ singer."

"Ore Rotundo is one of the most acclaimed singers in all of Lucis," Ignis reminded them. "It was a great honor for him to attend." He selected a piece of perfectly toasted bread and dipped it in the crab and mushroom melt. "And you managed to stay awake throughout his entire performance."

"Yeah," Noct said, grimacing. "No way I could've slept through _that_."

Ignis kept his smile to himself. "Of course, no one could speak to you, either. He has quite the sonorous voice."

"That mean loud?" Gladio grunted.

Noct snorted. "Loud doesn't even begin to cover it."

"If only someone had covered his mouth," Gladio agreed.

"And if we don't stop talking about this, I'm heading for the covers," Noct warned. 

"Noctis," Ignis said, taking Noct's unsubtle hint that it was time to change the subject, "how do you like your beer?"

He grimaced, taking a drink. "It's fine, I guess."

Ignis found himself absurdly pleased about that. "Perhaps a glass of wine with your dinner will suit you better."

"I like it," Prompto announced. He held his glass up, examining it in the dim light. "It's got—creamy? overtones? and a swishy mouthfeel."

Ignis let out an undignified snort before he could stop himself. "Indeed."

Noct was grinning. "If you say so."

"Dude!" Prompto said. "You just have to develop the right _palate_ , is all."

"Alright, hotshot," Gladio said. "Let's see what you think about the next round."

They hadn't even come close to finishing the current round. Ignis made a mental note to ask the server for four glasses of water at the next opportunity. "Now, now. There's nothing to be gained by hasty intoxication." 

Gladio shook his head. "Where the hell do you come up with this stuff, Iggy?"

Ignis adjusted his glasses, briefly startled by the different frames. He'd somehow forgotten he was wearing new ones, put into place by Noct in the closeness of his bathroom. He cleared his throat, trying to shake it off. "I only meant that this is intended to be a celebration. No harm in moderation, to better enjoy the drink and company."

Gladio snorted, but didn't push. There was a brief silence, all of them taking time to contemplate his advice.

"Okay, good point, I guess," Prompto said, ignoring Ignis's advice and gulping down what seemed to be an excessive amount of beer, "but I gotta know." He turned to Noct. "What was your _best birthday ever_." 

A fascinating question. Ignis leaned forward in his chair, awaiting Noct's answer.

"Dad took the whole evening off," Noct said dreamily. "It was a couple of years after I got Ignis—"

"Got Ignis?" Prompto giggled. "You make it sound like he was a puppy."

"W-what?" Noct asked, laughing awkwardly. "No, like—as a retainer." It was difficult to tell if his face was flushed from embarrassment or the alcohol.

It took Ignis a few seconds longer than it should have to diffuse the situation. He should most certainly follow his own advice and refrain from another glass of wine. "I _was_ rather young at the time," he mused. "I suppose there was something of a resemblance." 

"Looked more like a chicobo if you ask me," Gladio grunted.  

Ignis feigned indignation, pleased when Noct and Prompto started laughing again. "No one did." 

"So what happened?" Prompto asked Noct, steering the conversation back to his original question. "With your birthday?"

"Oh," Noct said. "Yeah. We had dinner together, even played this board game he likes." He made a face. "It took for _ever_."

"If I recall correctly," Ignis said, "I attempted to stand out of sight, behind the sofa, so as not to intrude."

Noct laughed, low and easy. "He made you come have dinner with us."

Ignis found himself smiling at the memory. "Or perhaps he needed a third player for the game."

Noct groaned. "It took _hours._ Literal hours."

"It demanded a fine sense of strategy."

"You and Dad," Noct drawled. "Trading pieces. Just couldn't give up and concede."

"That would hardly have made a good impression," Ignis protested. "I needed to show him I had mettle. He had only recently entrusted his son to my care, after all."

Gladio snorted. "So you were what, six? Seven?" Surely he had been older than that. He had felt older, but Gladio's math seemed correct. "And still trying to compete with the king." Gladio shook his head, grinning, as if that were an accomplishment instead of simply foolhardy.

"They let me back into the game three times," Noct told Prompto.

"You only lost the third time because you fell asleep," Ignis protested.

Prompto laughed. "I guess some things never change, huh, buddy?"

"Indeed," Ignis said, smiling at Noct. "I'm amazed you're still up." 

"I'm awake," Noct protested, trying to cover a yawn with his hand.

"What about you, Gladio?" Prompto asked, finishing off his bottle. "Best birthday. C'mon, let's hear it."

"I'll tell you when you're older," he smirked, pulling his gaze back to the table and away from a group of women seated near the door. 

Prompto made a strangled noise, complete with vague hand gestures. 

"Perhaps your second best, then?" Ignis suggested. 

Gladio grunted. "Nah, 's boring. His Majesty gave dad time off for the evening, everyone was home. Real nice night." He shrugged. 

"So tell a different one," Noct argued.

Gladio heaved out a breath, his eyes sliding over to find Ignis. 

No. Surely he wouldn't—

"Doesn't have to be my birthday, right?" Gladio asked, grinning wickedly. "Iggy had a pretty good one a couple years back."

"Gladio," Ignis warned.

Noct turned to stare, first at Ignis for a long, uncomfortable moment, then at Gladio. "What happened?" he asked, sounding slightly awed.

Ignis cleared his throat. "Nothing interesting, I assure you."

Gladio grinned, loose and easy. "It was Iggy's eighteenth," he started, sounding like a man settling into an epic tale. "He didn't want to do anything about it, of course."

"Of course not," Noct said, amused.

Ignis made eye contact with one of the servers and lifted a finger for another drink.

"So I got him smashed," Gladio went on.

"No way," Prompto protested. Ignis felt disproportionately grateful. At least _someone_ at the table believed in his dignity.

"So what happened?" Noct demanded.

Gladio smirked. "Think we had a dance, didn't we, Iggy?"

The waiter showed up with Ignis's drink just in time. He took the opportunity to waste a rather large mouthful of truly exquisite wine, swallowing it without even tasting it. "Did we?" he asked, trying to keep his tone cool. 

Gladio laughed, delighted with himself. "You weren't _that_ drunk."

Ignis snorted, despite himself. "Regrettably."

"You guys danced?" Noct asked, in a smiliar tone to the one he'd used when first learning about Maritus. 

Ignis considered the glass of wine in front of him before sliding it further back on the table. _Moderation_. "It was nothing. An indiscretion brought about by youth and intoxication."

"It happened two years ago, Iggy."

"I've aged," he said dryly, and Noct let out a startled laugh. 

Ignis turned to Prompto. "What about you? I'm sure you have some fond birthday memories."

"Ah," he stammered, cheeks flushed. "Me?"

"Yeah. Let's hear it," Noct ordered.

"Hold up," Gladio said, lifting a hand and summoning a waiter as if by magic. The man was impossible to ignore. "If Iggy's started on the next round, so can we."

The three of them clustered around the menu. After a few seconds, Noct looked up. "Hey Ignis," he said, his grin almost impish. "Mind if I try some?" he asked, nodding at Ignis's glass.

"By all means," Ignis granted.

Noct took the glass, giving the wine a gentle swirl before taking a careful sip. He made a face, slightly different from his previous grimace over the beer. "Not bad," he said. "I guess," and took another drink.

"A glass for you, then, sir?" the waiter hazarded.

Noct grinned, leaning in towards Ignis. "I don't know, maybe I'll just keep sharing yours."

Ignis could feel the alcohol warm under his cheeks. Perhaps sharing the next glass would prevent Noct from drinking too much. "Certainly, if you wish."

"Another glass, then," Noct told the waiter. 

"And another round of water for everyone, please," Ignis added.

The waiter had barely left when Noct turned back to Prompto, his hand curled around Ignis's glass of wine. "So? Best birthday. Spill."

"I don't—I mean, I don't know," Prompto said, stumbling over the words. "There's so many to choose from." He licked his lips, playing with his empty bottle. "Maybe that one, what, two years ago?" He looked at Noct, as if speaking directly to him. "Remember? We'd just met and you insisted on coming over. Made me read all those comic books."

"Oh yeah," Noct said, grinning. "I couldn't believe you'd never read A.V.A.L.A.N.C.H.E."

"Rebel forces fighting against a corrupt empire," Prompto announced, pitching his voice in imitation of the classic film narrators. 

"An entirely inappropriate comic book series for a young prince to be reading," Ignis said, unable to help himself. They both ignored him.

"We spent the whole day reading them," Prompto continued, lost in the memory. 

"Sprawled out on your bed," Noct added.

"You really wanted some cake," Prompto said. "But there wasn't any in the house and by then all the markets had closed."

"So we went to that gas station," he nodded, grinning.

"And bought a box of twinkies. Lined them all up and put candles in all of them—"

"Only they weren't the right size," Noct said, truly laughing now. It was a pleasure to hear. Ignis had almost forgotten the sound of it. The burden of upcoming responsibilities were beginning to weigh on Noct's shoulders. "So we had to use the candles in your parents' closet."

"Yeah!" Prompto grinned. "Those tall ones. The only ones that even came close to fitting in the twinkies." He wrinkled his nose. "And allll of them were pine scented."

Noct laughed. "Pine-scented twinkie cake. Now that's a birthday."

"I beg your pardon," Ignis said. They ignored him, chattering about the comic, and Ignis made a firm mental note to ask Noctis about it later. If he had known they would be resorting to overly processed snack foods as a birthday cake, he would have insisted on making something. 

"What about you?" Prompto asked, and Ignis blinked.

"Hmm?" 

"Yeah, your turn, Iggy," Noct grinned. "Best birthday. Let's hear it."

"They have all been exceedingly good," he said firmly.

"What?" Prompto protested. "C'mon, man."

Gladio gave him a flat look. "Oh no you don't. Not after all the fuss you made about sharing mine."

"Very well," Ignis sighed. He considered for a moment. 

"And don't think you can get out of it saying it was your eighteenth birthday," Gladio warned.

"I had no such intention," he replied primly and Noct laughed. "Hmm. I suppose I would have to say my fourteenth birthday, though it didn't start that way." 

Noct grinned, at that. It was good to see he still remembered the night, as well. 

"It was certainly my most memorable," Ignis qualified. "I had not yet grown into my role as advisor to the prince. I was still learning how to best approach the numerous challenges associated with my charge." His mouth quirked. "For example, the night before my fourteenth birthday, Prince Noctis disappeared without warning, leaving behind only an open window and a puddle of rainwater. I was, as you can imagine, rather concerned."

Noct let out a quiet laugh. 

"I'd begun to identify his favorite hiding places, by then, but unfortunately, none of them held my wayward prince. He led me on quite the merry chase, out of the Citadel and into the city."

"We ended up downtown," Noct said, picking up the story. "I think you finally caught me near the mall."

Ignis shook his head, smiling. "Soaked to the bone, both of us. We ducked into the Lucian Arms to escape the rain."

"Best curry in town," Noct said happily.

"And excellent salad."

"I wouldn't know," he smirked.

"I tried to share," Ignis said. "For some reason, you were resistant to the idea."

"Ugh," Noct shuddered. "Vegetables."

"As I recall, His Majesty was most displeased to learn of our misadventure."

"And you took all the blame," Noct said, faintly apologetic.

"Yes, well, it _was_ my responsibility to keep watch over you," Ignis told him.

Gladio shook his head. "You're too soft."

"Nevertheless, Noct found himself grounded _and_ under guard the next day."

"Which was your birthday," Prompto prompted.

"It was almost a relief, knowing he could not leave the Citadel," Ignis continued before turning to Noct. "Though I was rather concerned you'd still try to slip away again. Instead, you gave me a gift." He smiled. The memory still brought a swell of pleasure. "A watch."

"'Cause you always complained how hard it was to keep me on schedule," Noct laughed. "I remember. If I hadn't taken so long picking it out at the store the night before, you never would have caught up with me."

"Damn," Prompto said, impressed. "So what happened to it? I mean, I've never seen you wear it."

Ignis sighed. "It shattered while training." An unfortunate affair.

"Too bad," Noct said dryly. "I bet it would be a collector's item today. There was a picture of Charlie the Chocobo on it and everything."

Ignis laughed. "And I wore it every day with pride."

"No _way_ ," Prompto said, laughing himself. "You? Had a Charlie the Chocobo watch?"

"I did him a favor, breaking it," Gladio grunted. "Gaudy piece of plastic like that." He laughed. "Should've seen the look on his face when it broke, though. Damn near impaled me with that wooden training spear."

Noct looked fascinated. "Really?" He shot a wicked grin at Ignis. "I didn't know you were such a Charlie fan."

Ignis's mouth was dry, alcohol buzzing just under his skin. He reached for the glass of wine, removing it from Noct's protection, and took a careful drink. "Indeed."

Gladio laughed. "Wasn't Charlie he was a fan of, you ask me."

Damn the man. "No one did."

Gladio winked at him and finally, blessedly, the conversation moved on.

\- - -

The waiter brought them another round and then another. At some point, Ignis had opted for a tumbler of good scotch—to allow Noctis the opportunity to try it. To Ignis's regret, Noct threw it back like a shot, shaking his head before grinning directly at him.

Ignis ordered them another, this one to savour. 

"Alright," Prompto said as the waiter left, "alright, we have to play truth or dare. It's, like, a requirement."

Ignis arched an eyebrow at him. "Have some secrets you'd like to share?"

He flushed almost immediately. Hm. Intriguing. 

"I've got a better idea," Gladio announced.

"Ooh," Prompto grinned, leaning forward in his seat and taking a drink from his bottle of beer. "This should be good. Drinking games from the _master_."

"A sit up contest," Gladio said, with much more enthusiasm than he'd managed to muster thus far.

Noct and Prompto both groaned. "It's my birthday," Noctis objected. "I'm not doing any work I don't have to."

Gladio shrugged. "Looks like I win, then."

It was a strategy Gladio had employed in the past with great success, but it didn't seem to do the trick tonight. Ignis was slightly relieved. It would have been much more of a challenge to keep a low profile if the prince and his bodyguard engaged in a push up contest. Their competitions had a tendency to devolve into wrestling matches.

"Your loss," Gladio shrugged. He took a drink, his eyes slowly sliding over to a table of women sitting behind them, laughing and thoroughly ignoring him. "So Noct," he said, eyes still on the women, and Ignis braced himself for trouble. "Want me to be your wingman for the night?"

"Nah," Noct shrugged. "I just want to hang out with my friends." He grinned. "And see Specs get plastered."

Gladio snorted while Ignis took a deliberate and pointed sip from his glass. "Don't hold your breath." He aimed a smirk at Ignis. "Wasn't that part of your special training? Make sure you could down a few at a function without losing your shit?"

Ignis sniffed in indignation. 

"Seriously?" Prompto breathed, staring at Ignis with something akin to awe. "This is information the world needs to know."

Ignis shook his head. "Very little of the training I received would make for interesting dinner conversation."

"But like, what did they teach you? Or did you just, you know, come out of the womb with all your shit together?" he asked, gesturing freely, his drink in hand. It was a small miracle none of it spilled. "Your glasses on and your taxes done?"

Noctis laughed, hard enough he folded over in his seat.

"Hardly," Ignis said, doing his best to ignore the unavoidable fact that Noctis was well on his way to inebriation. "There was extensive training involved as soon as I received my station."

"And even more once he got it in his head to join the Crownsguard," Gladio pointed out.

"Sooo, a bunch of training you don't want to talk about, then," Prompto said as though he were arguing a point. What precisely that point was, Ignis couldn't ascertain. Prompto turned back to Noct. "So he's always been like this."

Noct was grinning. "Uh-huh."

"Do you have any advice on how to be, you know, perfect?" Prompto asked Ignis, gesturing with his glass again. "In every way?"

Ignis stared at him for a moment before a dry chuckle escaped him. And having started laughing, he suddenly found he could not stop.

"Uh," Prompto said.

"Great," Noct said. "You broke him."

"It's true, though," Prompto insisted. "He's a good cook, is _super_ stylin', has a great boyfriend—"

"Gladio," Ignis interrupted. "Who are _you_ seeing? Perhaps we could discuss _that_ in excruciating depth."

Gladio smirked. "I don't _date_ , if that's what you're asking. But I am definitely seeing those two cute girls over by the window." 

"I'm tired," Noct yawned, letting his arms slide across the table, head resting loosely on one. "It's bedtime."

"Come on, bud," Gladio told him, "power through it. Have another drink." Noct groaned. "Iggy, your love life is putting him to sleep."

Noct struggled upright. "No it's not," he protested. "I'm awake."

"Uh huh," Gladio said, amused. He took a drink, tilting his head back, draining his beer. 

"So Iggy—can I call you Iggy?" Prompto asked.

"No."

"Have you started planning a wedding yet? Do you have, like, a photographer in mind? Because I'd be honored if you hired me. I'd even do it for _free._ "

"There will be no wedding," Ignis snapped. 

"Alright fellas," Gladio said, breaking the mood. "This has been fun, but I see I'm needed elsewhere."

Ignis stared at him in disbelief. "And where would that be?" he demanded.

Gladio smirked at him, nodding over at the table he'd been openly eyeing for the past half hour. The women were, indeed, eyeing him back. 

Surely the King's _Shield_ wasn't going to abandon his charge on the night of his _birthday celebration?_

"We are not done," Ignis told him. It perhaps came out closer to a hiss. 

"Oh, I'm just getting started," Gladio smirked and pushed his chair back. He got to his feet and left them at a saunter.

They all stared after him for a full thirty seconds.

"How does he do it?" Prompto said, clearly and regrettably impressed.

"How indeed," Ignis replied dryly, doing an admirable job of keeping the anger out of his tone. 

The server came and went, replacing their empty glasses with full ones. Ignis ignored his and only wished he could say the same for Noct.

"So when did you guys meet?" Prompto asked, gesturing between Ignis and Noct. He was sprawled, now, his arms supporting him against the table. 

"We were quite young," Ignis admitted.

"Yeah," Noct said, grinning loosely. "Dad made a speech and everything."

"Whoa!" Prompto gasped. "You met King Regis?"

Ignis couldn't help but smile. "Several times."

"I think you see him more than I do," Noct muttered.

"If you attended the council meetings—"

"I know, I know," he said, waving that off.

"But, like, what was it like?" Prompto pressed. "Butlering him around?"

Ignis's eyebrows lifted of their own accord. 

"You've been his butler—"

"Retainer," Ignis corrected.

"—his whole life? _Your_ whole life?" The way Prompto said it, twisting the words, left a sour taste in Ignis's mouth. 

"With pleasure," Ignis said.

Noct shot him a look. 

Ignis ignored it. He took another drink instead, and some distant part of his brain noted that he really ought to stop. He ignored that, too. 

"Sure," Prompto said carelessly, "but like, did you get along right away, or what?"

That first meeting was still as clear in Ignis' memory as if it happened only the day before. The nerves and anticipation, the thrill of finally meeting his prince face-to-face. His Majesty's words, grave but encouraging. The sense, even then, long before he could truly grasp what it meant, that his path in life was in the hands of the prince. The uncertainty about who that prince was and who he might become. The courage it took Ignis to hold out his hand in greeting, and the relief when Noct took it.

And then that smile.

"Yeah, at first," Noct answered, and Ignis blinked back to the present. "Until he actually started advising me. All the time. About _everything_."

Ignis laughed. "I was perhaps overzealous in the prosecution of my duties."

"Can you imagine a kid one year older than you telling you what to do all the time?" Noct asked. Prompto laughed.

"Year and a half," Ignis corrected. "And I was _advising_." He took another sip. "I soon found it necessary to alter my strategy somewhat. As it turns out, telling Noctis to do something, no matter how reasonable, tends to inspire rebellion."

"Half the time you were telling me to do stuff when I was already doing it," Noct pointed out.

"And so your reaction was to stop immediately," Ignis said, perhaps a trifle more indignantly than planned.

"Or do it wrong on purpose," Noct laughed. "Just for the look on your face."

Prompto laughed, harder. "So basically nothing's changed."

Noct snorted, fiddling with his glass, and didn't answer. 

"I'd say a great deal has changed," Ignis said. "To begin with, his highness can now tie his own shoes and even fall asleep on his own, without a bedtime story."

"But why would you want to?" Prompto asked, grinning.

Noct laughed. "Yeah, how come you never tuck me in anymore?"

Ignis opened his mouth to say that he need only ask but Prompto interrupted before he had the chance. "Pretty sure he's doing that for Maritus now, dude."

Noct shrugged one shoulder, unamused. "Guess so," he said, before tilting his head back and emptying Ignis's tumbler.

Ignis hesitated. "Perhaps it's time to leave," he suggested.

"I'm just getting started," Noct said stubbornly, flagging down a server to request another round.

As soon as she was gone, Prompto picked up his questioning, to Ignis's regret. "So is Maritus your first boyfriend?"

Ignis took a breath, let it out. This was supposed to be Noctis's night, not his. "I don't see how it matters."

"That's either a yes or a _serious_ no," Prompto translated. Noct gave a snort that sounded distinctly unamused. "At least tell us how you met." 

Ignis sighed. "In a market, while purchasing my weekly supply of Ebony."

Noctis laughed a little and Ignis found himself relaxing ever so slightly. "So what's he like? Must be pretty special to capture _your_ attention."

Ignis had a few misgivings, but the prince had asked. He'd only seen the man a few months. Certainly not enough time to know each other well, but he would give it his best. "Hmm. He has a rather dry wit," he started, "and strong opinions about all manner of beverages, particularly coffee and wine." Noct frowned at his empty glass. "From the sound of things, he supports the local art scene—a rather grave affair, filled with morbid imagery no doubt inspired by the war—and is a frequent patron of the opera."

Noct groaned.

Prompto was laughing so hard he nearly fell out of his seat. "Are you sure you're not dating yourself?" 

"I know next to nothing about the arts," Ignis protested. "My area of expertise, such as it is, is focused primarily on Lucian history, politics, and economy."

"But I bet deep down you _want_ to know about the arts," Prompto argued. "Right?" He turned to Noct, appealing. "Right?"

Noct huffed out something that could have been mistaken for a laugh. He spread his hands. "What do I know? I didn't even know he was dating."

"A passing interest," Ignis insisted. "I would rather read, to be quite honest," and Noct threw a napkin at him.

The waiter re-appeared with their drinks. Ignis gave his tumbler a look of grave misgiving. If he didn't drink it, it was likely Noct would do it for him.

"Okay," Prompto said, unable to stop. "We know he's artsy and probably hella smart. Now to the most important question: _is he hot?_ " 

"I beg your pardon?" he tried.

"Maritus! Your boyfriend! The love of your life! What does he rate?"

Ignis's mouth worked, briefly. Noct wore the same look of flat expectation he'd had when asking for details about their date. "He's not unappealing," he finally managed.

Prompto waited patiently for all of three seconds before finally turning to Noct. "Could you maybe translate that out of Ignisese? Ignish?"

Noct glanced at him and snorted, looking down into his own drink as if it might hold an answer. "Don't ask me."

"You must have a picture of him on your phone," Prompto said, turning to Ignis again. "Come on, now's your chance to show off the bae!"

"The—? Certainly not," Ignis told him. "My phone is Crownsguard property. I use it exclusively for matters relating to the royal service."

"And texting your boyfriend," Noct added. "Do you even have a personal phone?"

He'd never had need of one, honestly. "Perhaps I should."

Noct rolled his eyes as though Ignis had just said something profoundly irritating. "Whatever."

"I bet he's totally cute," Prompto said. "But, like, sensitive nerd cute."

"Pardon?" Ignis asked again. His glass was empty, again, and he couldn't seem to account for how or when that had occurred.

"Does he wear glasses?"

"No."

"Is he—"

"What about _you_ , Prompto," Ignis cut in, rather desperately. "How is _your_ love life?"

"Uh, totally imaginary, obviously," Prompto said. "Which is why I'm dying to know about yours."

"Is there anyone you have your eye on?" 

Noct snorted. "Only every girl he's _ever_ laid eyes on."

"There are a lot! Of attractive women! In the Crown City, okay?" Prompto insisted. Every drink seemed to add another exclamation point to his already over-punctuated exclamations. "And I'm pretty sure most of them have dated Gladio and now they have high expectations."

Ignis laughed. 

"I know it's hard to believe," Prompto went on, gesturing incomprehensibly at himself, "but the ladies are not exactly lining up to date the weird kid with the camera." Noct opened his mouth to say something to that, but Prompto carried on. "You! On the other hand! Probably have guys tripping over themselves to ask you out. Maritus must really be something."

"I am hardly in demand," Ignis said dryly, ignoring the latter half of the question. "I have very little free time and what few charms I do possess are not the type to kindle passion."

"Uh," Prompto began, but before he could say anything of substance, Noct cut in.

"Wait," he laughed, dark and bitter. "What charms _do_ you possess?" He was beginning to sound a trifle inebriated, his words coming undone at the edges, blurring into each other. 

"Dude, he can cook and clean—" 

"I want to hear it from him," Noct commanded.

Ignis cleared his throat. "I am organized," he said, somewhat stiffly. "Punctual—"

"Those are job skills," Prompto interrupted, loud and agitated. "Look at you! You're a—a _catch!_ A really good catch!" He turned to Noct, gesturing emphatically. "He can cook and clean," he said, ticking the words off on his fingers as though running through a mental checklist. "He's a snappy dresser. He makes really good coffee." 

"I _know_ ," Noct growled.

"He's probably super romantic—"

"Prompto," Noctis cut in.

"And I bet he's really good in bed," Prompto finished. 

" _Prompto_ ," Noctis growled, loud enough to attract attention. He was, rather alarmingly, suddenly on his feet. "Shut. _Up._ "

Prompto faltered. "N-no, dude, I'm just saying—"

"I think you've said enough," Ignis said, cutting him off. "Time we were off, anyway. I'll phone for a cab," and stepped away, pulling his phone out. He could only hope they wouldn't come to blows in the next minute.

They did not. Noct sank bank into his chair and they sat in silence at the table. Prompto seemed puzzled and dismayed, gesturing vaguely while Noct finished his drink with single-minded determination. 

Phone call finished, Ignis looked after the bill. The cabbie was waiting for them by the time he'd paid, and Ignis herded them out the door, as quickly and quietly as possible.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Thanks everyone for sticking with me.

Ignis climbed into the front seat of the cab, feeling distinctly inebriated. He gave the cabbie Noct's address and sank into his seat. The ride seemed simultaneously too long and near instantaneous with both Noctis and Prompto silent in the back, but eventually they arrived at the entrance to Noct's building.

Ignis made Prompto wait in the cab while he deposited the prince safely in his flat. As expected, Noctis immediately crawled into bed, or at least tried to. Ignis left him with his head on the covers and his feet hanging off the edge of the mattress, muttering darkly about still being awake. 

Good enough for now, Ignis supposed, and brought him a large glass of water before returning to the cab. 

Ignis climbed into the back, next to Prompto, who startled. Ignis ignored him, leaning forward to give the driver the boy's address.

“You don’t have to ride with me," Prompto told him, his words sliding precariously into each other. "I mean, obviously you _can_ if you want, but isn't your place in the oppos—”

“It’s fine,” Ignis cut in, hoping to stop him before he could truly begin babbling. “Noctis wouldn't forgive me if you wandered out of the cab and fell into the canal.”

Prompto laughed far longer than was reasonable. “I’d make good fish bait, though.”

Still very much intoxicated, obviously. Ignis reached out to close the privacy window before the driver could hear anything alarming. 

“Is he okay?” Prompto asked, voice small. It took a moment for Ignis to realize he meant Noct, not the driver. “Do you think I ruined his birthday? I didn’t mean to! He’s my best buddy! I mean he’s also kind of my only buddy, but —”

“While an apology might be in order tomorrow,” Ignis said, trying to keep him relatively grounded, “I’m sure Noct will forgive you, assuming he hasn’t consumed enough alcohol to forget entirely.”

“Man,” Prompto said miserably. “I just don’t know what’s going on with him lately.”

Ignis took a breath, let it out. “...Neither do I, I’m afraid.”

They sat in silence for perhaps thirty seconds before Prompto asked, “Hey, Ignis? Can I ask you a question?”

Ignis felt a profound misgiving. “I believe you just did,” he pointed out. It came out sharper than it should have.

“How, uh, how old were you?” Ignis closed his eyes against a swell of _extremely_ unwelcome pity. “When you realized you were. Y’know. Into guys?”

He grit his teeth, trying to imagine what he would say if the prince were still in the car, listening. “I was quite young,” he finally managed. “There was a very long stretch of years between the moment of realization and the moment of acceptance.” 

“Huh? How come?”

Ignis was not remotely drunk enough for this. “For a number of very complex reasons, both psychological and sociological.”

Prompto held up a finger. “Your mouth,” he said, as if that were the title of his upcoming nonsense, “is moving way too fast right now. Which is funny, ‘cause your words are kinda like...” He finished his sentence with a slow, sinuous gesture that suggested the pulling of taffy. “Let me just. Let me catch up.” And finally, “How come you never talked to Noct about it?”

“See above,” Ignis growled, only partially successful in ignoring the implication that Noct had discussed this. With _Prompto_.

“Do you think maybe that’s why he’s being so,” he gestured again, even more incomprehensibly than before, “like, _berserk_ about this whole thing?”

“As I said,” Ignis bit out, “I do not know what is bothering him. But whatever it is, you are certainly not helping the matter.”

“Me?” Prompto sputtered. “He only got all weird when you came out!”

“When I _what?_ ” He'd done nothing of the sort.

“You know what I mean,” Prompto insisted, flapping a hand as though it would clarify anything. 

It took an excessive amount of concentration to put the appropriate degree of warning in his tone. “I’m quite certain I don’t.”

“Since he found out you were dating that guy,” Prompto said dismissively, as if that were a minor incident rather than an ongoing catastrophe. “I just don’t know if it’s the guy part that’s bothering him or the dating.”

That fell uncomfortably close to Ignis’ own reading of the situation. “Whatever it is,” Ignis said, “you are undoubtedly exacerbating the situation by _constantly mentioning it_.”

“Fine!” Prompto said, throwing his hands up, vaguely reminiscent of a hyperactive Noct. “I’ll stop bringing it up!”

“Good.”

“I just, I mean,” Prompto said insistently, immediately bringing it up again. “You’re always all quiet and cranky! But Noct talks like you’re the best thing since sliced bread and—and even _Gladio_ likes you, what's up with _that_ —and I could never see what the big deal was! But now, I finally learn something about you that we—that you—that makes you, like, human, and real, and I just! Want! To get to know you better!”

Ignis shut his eyes and took a breath, wishing the cab would stop lazily spinning around him. “Prompto,” he said firmly. “While I am... flattered... by your sudden and _relentless_ interest in my personal life, you’ll forgive me if I suspect there is some underlying issue.”

Prompto stared at him. “How are you this sober?”

“I assure you, if I were sober this conversation would not be happening.”

“What conversation?” Prompto demanded.

“ _This_ conversation,” Ignis argued, stabbing a finger at the seat between them, “about the sexuality crisis you’re currently wallowing in. I am hardly an expert, nor a shining example of self-acceptance, but even so, it is painfully obvious to me that you are _exceedingly_ bisexual.”

Prompto stared at him, mouth open.

“If you have questions about how to digest this, there are abundant resources online. If you have questions about the—practical aspects, I suggest asking Gladio.”

Prompto’s mouth worked. “Glad... i... o?”

“If you are concerned about coming out to Noct, your fears are understandable but almost certainly unfounded.”

“Y—you don’t know that,” Prompto tried.

“I know Noct,” he said. “Very well.”

Prompto slumped in his seat, looking faintly ill. Hopefully due to his new understanding and not from alcohol poisoning. Ignis realized in hindsight, as he had many other things, that he should have prepared for the eventuality that one or more of them would be sick. Clearly he had been woefully unprepared for every part of this endeavour. “Then why’s he so pissed off about this?”

Ignis sighed, leaning back. “I wish I knew.”

“Is it just the fact that you didn’t tell him? Is he jealous ‘cause he’s still single? Is he mad ‘cause he doesn’t get to pick who he’ll marry? Or does he just have a giant crush on you?”

Ignis froze.

As did Prompto, very briefly, before practically throwing himself at Ignis, grabbing his shoulders. “Ignis!” he gasped. “Noct _totally_ has a giant crush on you! Like, huge! He—”

“He has _no such thing!_ ” Ignis snapped, sharp enough to scare the boy.

Prompto stared at him, eyes absurdly wide, from the other end of the seat. After several long seconds of silence, he swallowed. Audibly. “You-you’re probably right. I mean, he totally would have told me, right?”

Ignis rubbed at his eyes and let his head rest on the back of the seat, the better to focus on his own misery. 

“But _you_ had a secret boyfriend and you didn’t tell _him_ ,” Prompto continued, as if to himself.

“A choice that I continue to regret,” Ignis murmured.

“The secret, or the boyfriend?”

...Both, Ignis realized. 

While he had indeed enjoyed Maritus’s company, trying to make time for him had quickly become more trouble than it was worth. 

It was... nice, at first, for Ignis to have something that was entirely his. That had no bearing on his duty and no connection to life at the Citadel. But for that very reason, Maritus could not understand the significance of his calling, or the depth of his devotion to the prince. 

“Uh, Ignis? Buddy?”

Ignis opened his eyes, seeing clearly for the first time in weeks. 

They’d arrived. “Uh, thanks for the company,” Prompto said. 

Ignis blinked at him. “Thank _you_ , Prompto,” he said quite sincerely.

Prompto faltered, not sure what to make of that. “Anytime?” He reached for the door, hesitating. “Tell Noct I’m sorry, okay? I’ll totally make it up to him if he’ll let me.”

“He will,” Ignis reassured him.

Prompto grinned, clambering out. “Thanks, Ignis.”

Ignis watched him wobble his way up to the door, fumble with the lock, and let himself inside. That done, he instructed the driver to return to Noct’s flat. 

He spent the rest of the drive on the phone with Maritus, saying farewell.

\- - - - -

Noct closed his eyes, feeling the room spin in slow, careless circles around him. He was tired and drunk and all he could think about was Ignis leaving him. Putting Noct to bed so he could leave and go back to his own apartment and his own bed and his own boyfriend.

What was it Dad had said? _Growing up means letting go_ or _You'll always lose the ones you love_. Something depressing like that. 

Well, it sucked. He didn't even want to think about it, but he just couldn't stop. Ignis was gonna leave him, to go have sex with someone. Just like Gladio did. Just like Prompto was going to, as soon as he got a boyf—a girlfriend. Whatever. But with them, it didn't—Noct didn't care _what_ they were gonna do, just that they were gonna leave.

But Ignis—

And it wasn't even that. It wasn't that he didn't want Ignis to have something _good_. He did. It just—it wasn't fair, that this dude who had randomly showed up in his life suddenly got to do all this stuff with Ignis, stuff Noct couldn't. Stuff he hadn't even known Ignis wanted to do.

Sure, there was the—the romantic stuff, or whatever. Noct couldn't really even picture it. Ignis was so formal and stiff and private. He freaked out whenever they accidentally touched, but it was pretty obvious after tonight that he and Maritus were. _Doing._ Stuff. 

But Maritus got to see him in private. Got to go out to eat with him, or sit on his bed and chill, or, or do that museum thing Noct had seen on Ignis's phone. Maritus was just some stranger who didn't even know him, not like Noct did, but he was the one doing all of that. With Ignis. 

And Ignis _liked_ it. Wanted to hang out with Maritus and—and kiss him, and—do the other stuff. More than he wanted Noct.

He hadn't even known he was missing out until suddenly, bam. It was gone and now Noct was just going to be a duty forever.

He lay there, his arm over his eyes and let the weight of the world slowly sink into him, keeping him on the bed. His thoughts were spinning as slow and loose as the rest of the world, but there was a thought niggling at the back of his mind, working its way free.

Maybe—

Maybe he should ask… Ignis. Something. What he wanted. If he wanted to hang out.

The bed was soft and warm and he'd almost fallen asleep when the door to his bedroom cracked open, light spilling in, hurting his eyes. "Unh?"

"I apologize if I woke you," Ignis said, quiet and gentle, and Noct tried to blink his eyes open. "How are you feeling?"

Noct tried to reply to that, but his mouth was too sleepy to manage more than a wordless groan.

"You haven't drank any of the water I left," Ignis continued reprovingly. "And your boots are still on." 

Noct shifted on the bed so he could mumble in Ignis's direction. "'m fine." 

"Let's get these off you," Ignis murmured, ignoring him to kneel at the foot of the bed. His fingers worked at the laces for a few moments before gently pulling the boots off. "At the very least get you under the covers."

It seemed really important suddenly to sit up. "I'm fine," he said, more insistently.

Ignis turned his head, trying to hide a smile, but it was too late. Noct had seen it. "Of course, your highness. There's no need to sleep on top of your covers, though."

"You sound very sober," Noct informed him.

Ignis let out a short, startled laugh. "I assure you, I am not." He sat on the bed, putting a hand on Noct's back, helping him stay upright. It felt nice. "Drink some water," he added, reaching over to get the glass he'd left on his bedside table. "You'll be glad you did in the morning."

Ugh. Noct took it and let Ignis coax him into drinking the whole thing.

"Are you able to drink another?" he asked, hand warm on Noct's back. 

Noct mumbled out, "Whatever," but the edges of the word had all blurred together. Ignis understood him, anyway. He was good like that. Noct watched him get up and leave, taking the empty glass with him. 

Noct had fallen back onto the bed by the time he got back, a fresh glass of water in hand. "Come now, up you get," he said. "Drink this one, too. As much as you can."

He was way too cheerful. "Did you put something in it?" Noct asked, struggling upright. And then, suddenly, acutely convinced, " _Vegetables?_ "

Ignis laughed, low and warm. "Just water," he promised, his hand returning to Noct's back, steady and reassuring.

"Iggy," Noct muttered, and the hand retreated. Dammit. He closed his eyes, struggling with something. He didn't want to sleep. 

Didn't want Ignis to leave him.

Noct took the water anyway and drank as much of it as he could manage. Crawled to the side of the bed just long enough for Ignis to pull down the covers and tuck him in. "All set for the night?"

"Mhmm," Noct mumbled. 

"Very good," and his hand brushed against Noct's forehead, brushing the hair out of his face. Noct leaned into the touch but Ignis was already pulling away.

"You came back," Noct said into his pillow. It seemed important for some reason. 

There was a pause, and then Ignis said, warmly, "Of course."

"I didn't think you would."

"Noct." He said his name like a promise. "I would never leave you."

Noct held onto it, but it kept sliding through his thoughts like a fish slipping between the shadows. "Swear?"

"I give you my word." He said it with a quiet conviction, enough that Noct felt it in his gut, warm and solid and true. 

"Prompto's right," he mumbled. "You really are a catch." 

Silence.

"Your boyfriend is—really lucky," Noct said, trying to make the words clear.

Ignis cleared his throat. "Perhaps," he said, avoiding the topic, like always. Noct buried his head in the pillow. "But anyone I become involved with will always come second, after my duty to you."

"Duty." He couldn't keep his eyes open, but he wanted to know. "Did you ever even have a choice about it?"

"A choice?" Ignis asked, like he'd never heard the word before. "Begging your pardon, but I am hardly without other options for employment. I make the choice every day to serve you, and I do it with pride. I would like nothing more than to remain by your side. Always."

 _Always._ It sounded good. 

"Thanks, Iggy." Noct couldn't quite tell if he'd said it out loud or just in his head, but Ignis squeezed his shoulder. Maybe he'd heard it anyway.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Noct?"

Noct breathed. "Stay here tonight."

Ignis was silent, long enough Noct had to open his eyes, make sure he hadn't left. "Of course," he said finally. "I'll make up the sofa."

"Sleep here," Noct told him. "There's room." Ignis stood there, painfully, awkwardly still. "It's not—we used to do this all the time when we were kids."

Ignis was still quiet, but he was choosing his words, now, weighing his options. Deciding on the best way to let Noct down. But eventually all he said was, "Of course. As you wish," all hesitant and careful.

Noct moved to the other side of the bed, giving him room, and after another long minute, Ignis climbed in. Noct shifted a little, getting comfortable.

Ignis was a nice, warm weight next to him, solid and familiar. It felt nice. _Right_ , almost, and somewhere between one breath and the next, Noct fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

When Noct woke up, he was alone, which shouldn’t have been weird or disappointing. His place smelled like coffee, though, and when he went out to the kitchen, Iggy was there, his sleeves rolled up and his hair disheveled, cracking eggs into a bowl.

He was still wearing that purple coeurl-print shirt.

“Hi,” Noct said, leaning on the counter to watch him.

“Good morning,” Ignis said forcefully, like it would be if he believed hard enough. And then, his voice going all soft, “How’s your head?”

Noct winced. “Could be worse.” Probably.

“Good to hear,” Ignis approved and poured him out a cup of coffee, adding just the right amount of cream and sugar before handing it over. 

“How about yours?” Noct asked, taking a slow sip. Nobody made coffee like Ignis.

Ignis closed his eyes, drinking from his own mug. “I’ve had worse mornings after.”

Noct arched his eyebrows. “Like when _you_ turned eighteen?” _And danced with Gladio_ , he didn’t say, because he didn’t think he could without sounding jealous.

Ignis actually winced, putting his mug down. “Indeed.” He added some cream to the eggs, beating them with a whisk he must have brought over himself. “I suppose it wouldn’t be a proper rite of passage without some associated regrets and the loss of a few brain cells.”

Noct snorted. “Yeah." He wiped at the side of his mug. "Thanks for staying.” Ignis didn’t answer, but Noct could see the edge of his smile while he poured the mix into the pan. “...I thought maybe you’d be with Maritus this morning.”

“I’m afraid not,” Ignis said, stirring the eggs while he adjust the heat on the stovetop. “We... ended things.”

Noct nearly choked on his coffee. “What?! You broke up with him? Ignis—”

“He broke up with me,” Ignis corrected him without looking up. 

“ _Why?!_ ” 

“Because I would rather be here,” Ignis said gently. 

Something in Noct's chest tightened, leaving him lightheaded and breathless. “But... why?”

Iggy let out a quiet little laugh. “A number of very complex reasons,” he said in that softly mocking way that made it hard to tell who he was making fun of, if anyone. Mostly it just meant he wasn’t going to answer. 

He could be really irritating sometimes. “It better not have been because of me.”

“I assure you, it wasn't,” Ignis said. He actually sounded a little startled. “I was entirely at fault, and besides, I can hardly blame him for preferring not to be an afterthought.” He glanced at Noct, finally looking at him. “You disapprove?”

Noct rubbed at his head. “No, of course not, I just—I want you to do what _you_ want. Not just whatever I want.”

“The two do coincide, on occasion.”

Really, really irritating. “I don’t want you to miss out on—on stuff, you know? I just... want you to be happy.”

Ignis looked away, adding some cheese to the eggs before folding them over. It seemed to take a long time and a lot of concentration. “Fortunately for you,” he said eventually, “I am exceedingly easy to please.” He handed over the plate, complete with a buttered slice of toast and a perfectly golden omelette. “You can start by eating a good breakfast.”

Noct rolled his eyes, grabbed a fork, and took a look at the food. “Are there vegetables in this?”

“Why don’t you take a bite and find out?”

Noct looked at him. Put the fork down.

Ignis held his hands up. “Merely a mix of spices, I assure you. Utterly devoid of nutritional value.”

Noct narrowed his eyes but took a cautious bite anyway. “It’s good,” he said finally. Really good. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” Ignis said, low and pleased.

“So what’s in it?”

Ignis turned away to make himself something, cracking more eggs, adding more spices. “Let me have _some_ secrets, Noct. One must maintain an appropriate air of mystery in the royal service.”

Noct ignored that and went on eating. It took him a couple of minutes to work up to it, but he finally said, “Sorry I was a jerk last night.”

Ignis cleared his throat delicately. “Yes, well, I don’t think any of us were on our best behavior.”

Ignis had been. As usual. Noct pushed the omelette around on his plate. “I hope Prompto’s not too upset.”

“I suggest you give him a call to make sure,” Ignis said, whisking another batch of eggs. “Though perhaps not just yet. If he’s not on his morning run at the moment I expect he’s recovering from last night’s festivities.”

“No kidding,” Noct agreed and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. He watched Ignis cook for a while, distracted by the new look. Could actually see his face behind his glasses, and Noct couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen him look so… _undone_ , with his collar open and his sleeves rolled up. He seemed... touchable, almost. “How come you don’t dress like this all the time?”

Ignis looked pained. “Like I slept in my clothes after a night of excessive drinking?”

“Like you actually have a personality.”

Ignis gave him a pointed look. “I would hate to misrepresent myself,” he said dryly.

Noct laughed.

“And this is hardly appropriate attire for serving a prince.”

“I’m a pretty inappropriate prince.”

Ignis laughed, a real laugh. “I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

Noct gestured lazily at him. “Just wear what you want. Life’s too short to worry about being proper.”

Ignis whisked a little harder, doing that thing with his mouth that meant Noct was winning and he was irritated about it. “I _want_ to be taken seriously at the Citadel.”

“Trust me, Specs. There’s nobody at the Citadel more serious than you. A little color in your wardrobe’s not gonna change that.”

Ignis adjusted his glasses. Poured the eggs into the pan.

“Just try it,” Noct told him. 

Ignis let out a breath. “Is that an order?”

Noct grinned at him. “Yeah. It is.”

Ignis glanced up from the eggs. “And if anyone cares to comment, I can tell them you dressed me?”

Noct arched his eyebrows. “Believe me, if you get any comments they’ll be the good kind.”

Ignis made a noise. Maybe a scoff.

Noct took a breath and finally sat down at the table, waiting for Ignis to finish making his own breakfast and join him. It took Noct a second to notice the perfectly wrapped box sitting in the middle of the table. He could swear it hadn't been there last night.

"What's this?"

Ignis looked over the counter. "I couldn't say," he said mildly. "Perhaps a birthday gift of some sort."

He was _enjoying_ this. "From you?" Noct asked. 

Ignis smiled to himself, eyes on the pan. "It would seem to stand to reason."

"Specs," Noct groaned, grinning. 

"Go on, then," Ignis said. "Open it."

He seemed to be enjoying this at least as much as Noct. "If you insist," Noct drawled, trying to keep a straight face. He took his time, peeling the paper back, carefully holding the box in his hand before pulling the lid off.

Inside was a pair of what had to be custom-made lures, delicately laid on a bed of soft fabric. They were—beautiful. "Ignis," he breathed, "what—"

Ignis cleared his throat. "They came from a highly recommended vendor in Altissia. Each lure is hand-made with extremely durable materials. In this case, Trevally scales and coeurl whiskers." He took a sip of coffee. "The natural materials supposedly make them all the more appealing to your target." 

Noct laughed low in his throat, picking one up and running a thumb down it. "Nice," he approved. "Real nice."

Ignis bent his head, focusing on the eggs, but Noct could see the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth.

Noct watched him for another minute, the thought he'd had last night still rattling around his head while Ignis finished his omelette and sat at the table across from him.

It took another minute of watching of Ignis eat before Noct finally made himself ask, “Listen. Do you want to, like. Do something later this week? Something _you_ want to do?”

Ignis blinked at him. “Such as review the minutes from the council meeting?”

” _No_ ,” Noct said emphatically. “Wasn’t there some museum opening or something you wanted to check out?”

Ignis stared at him, his fork halfway to his mouth. Eventually he said, “I... do have tickets to a gallery opening.”

“Well, do you have someone to go with?”

A long pause. “Not anymore, I suppose.”

“So take me.”

Ignis looked at him like he was speaking Altissian.

“I’ll behave,” Noct said, plaintive even to his own ears. “And wear a suit. And you can explain to me what the...” he gestured, vaguely, “art. Is all about.”

Ignis kept staring.

“I just—" and the words stuck suddenly in his throat. It took a moment before he could force the rest of them out. "Want to do something you’re into, for once.”

“O-of course,” Ignis faltered. 

It was a stupid idea. Ignis probably wanted to go to get _away_ from him, not to babysit him for the night. Noct opened his mouth to tell him to forget it.

Before he could, Ignis added, quiet and genuine, “I would enjoy that very much."

Noct’s chest did that thing again, like someone had reached right in and squeezed all the air out. He swallowed. “Cool.”

Ignis ducked his head and started eating. After a minute, Noct asked, “So what’s on the schedule for today?”

“Your day is free,” Ignis said, without looking up. “I anticipated you might need some peace and quiet, and Gladio agreed to cancel your training for today. As a birthday gift.”

“Wow. What did you have to do to get him to agree to that?”

“Ask,” Ignis said primly. 

Noct snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“Politely,” Ignis amended. Then, moving on, “I have a few things to do at the Citadel, including my own training—”

“Of course."

“—but if you like, I can return to make dinner.”

“Sounds good,” Noct grinned. “See if Gladio wants to join us.”

“I’m sure he will. I’ll return around five, then.”

“Think I’ll try out my new lures while you’re gone.”

Ignis looked extremely satisfied with that. “Very good. Make sure you keep an eye on the time.”

Noct huffed out a laugh. "Sure thing, Specs."

"Would you care for a ride to the lake once I'm finished?"

"Think I'll walk," he said. "It's not too far." He paused, and then added, "Thanks, though."

Ignis blinked. "Of course," he said smoothly. "Do phone if you need a ride home."

Noct laughed. "If you insist," and Ignis nodded, carrying the dishes to the sink.

\- - - - -

Gladio was halfway through his workout when Iggy finally showed up, towel and water bottle in hand. Gladio grunted out a greeting, finishing his last few squats before saying, “You’re late.”

“Apologies,” Ignis said, cheerful instead of hungover.

“Someone's in a good mood," he smirked. "Making it up to Maritus, huh?”

“No,” Ignis said, totally unruffled. He set his stuff down on the bench. “We… ended things.”

Gladio stared.

“It wasn’t fair to him. I would never be able to make him a priority. Not when Noct is, and always will be, my highest duty.”

Gladio finally found his voice. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he roared. “You picked _Noct?_ ”

Ignis blinked. “I suppose I did,” he allowed.

“Over a guy who actually _treated you right?_ ” 

Ignis stiffened up. “Gladio. I’ve made my decision. Would you _kindly_ stop raging about Noct’s disrespect for my boundaries and start respecting them yourself?”

Gladio huffed out a breath. “Goddamnit, Iggy. I just want you to be happy.”

Ignis frowned. “What in the world makes you think I’m not?”

Was he serious? “You spend all your time looking after an ungrateful brat. And now, when you've finally put yourself first for a change, he can't handle it.” Gladio cracked his neck. "He threw a tantrum and you're just giving in."

Ignis considered that, pulling off his glasses to start cleaning them. Gladio'd hit a sore spot, then. _Good._ “I’m afraid I don’t see it that way.”

“Of course you don’t,” Gladio scoffed. “Look. I love Noct, too. He’s like a brother to me. But he needs to wake up and start appreciating what he's got." Ignis opened his mouth, ready to protest, and Gladio barrelled forward before he could start. "All the shit _you_ do for him. He has no idea.”

Ignis started his warm up, rolling his shoulders, stretching his back. “He’s learning,” he said gently. “And I don't think you realize how much he has done for _me_.”

Gladio crossed his arms. “Alright, let's hear it, then. What _does_ he do, besides leave his shit laying around for you to clean up?”

Iggy frowned, taking his time. Trying to defend himself. “He gives me purpose. Hope for the future. Unconditional friendship, since the day we met. And he makes me—” Ignis stopped, taking in a quiet breath before starting again. “He brings me happiness, I suppose, in a way I had not thought possible after my parents died.”

Shit. “Ignis—”

“And I would gladly die for him.”

_Unlike you_ , he didn’t say, but Gladio heard it anyway, loud and clear. “Of _course_ I’d die for him, Iggy,” he snapped. “That’s what I was born for.”

Ignis looked at him a minute before stepping forward with a comforting hand on Gladio's shoulder. “I understand.”

“No, you don’t!” Gladio growled, shaking him off. “You _should_ , better than anyone! But you don't!"

Ignis stared at him, startled, and he _still_ didn't get it. 

“You're like me," Gladio said. "Never had a choice in any of this. Been told your whole life that your whole _purpose_ in life was to follow around some snot-nosed kid who hasn't done a thing to deserve it.”

“And what chance has he had to earn it?” Ignis demanded. “He's had no more choice in this than we did, and with considerably less freedom.” He caught Gladio's gaze, holding it. “Someday, he will sit on that throne, whether we like it or not—whether _he_ likes it or not. How we treat him now will determine how he treats his subjects.”

Gladio looked away.

“I hope someday to serve a kind, compassionate king, who thinks before he acts.”

Gladio sniffed. “He’s gotta be tough. To stand up for what he believes in and protect his people.”

“That is why he needs both of us,” Ignis said.

God damn it. Gladio sat down on the bench, suddenly exhausted. “I just—I was raised on all these stories of great kings doing great deeds, with their shields at their side.” 

“None of them started out great, Gladio," he said, terribly gentle. "And without their shields, none of them would have lived long enough to _become_ great.”

Hell with it. Someday Gladio was gonna win an argument against this uptight asshole. “Guess you’re right,” he grumbled.

Ignis sat next to him. “Noct was raised on those same stories. I would hazard that it’s considerably harder to be a good king than it is to be a good servant.”

Gladio grunted. “I just feel like we’ve given up so much for him.”

“And I believe that one day he will pay it back, tenfold.”

Gladio sniffed. “He sure ain’t in a hurry.”

“Would you be?” And when Gladio didn’t answer, “His whole life he’s watched that burden slowly kill his father.”

“I know,” Gladio muttered. “...I know.”

And he did. Gladio knew what it was like, not knowing when you'd get to see your dad next. _If_ you'd get to see him again, 'cause some day he might have to give up his life for someone else, someone who wasn't you. Gladio'd made his peace with it years ago, even come to understand that it was an honor.

But it was hard to see Noct as anything but his stuck up little brother. The one who was handed everything on a silver plate without ever having to work for it.

“Still think it wouldn’t hurt him to say thanks, once in a while,” Gladio grunted.

“He does seem to resist learning the finer points of etiquette,” Ignis agreed, tone dry.

Gladio snorted, and after a minute, said, “…Sorry things didn’t work out with whatsisname.”

“Yes. Well, it’s for the best. Frankly, I found it exhausting.”

Gladio managed a grin. “I bet you did.”

Iggy rolled his eyes and got up, brushing his pants off before holding a hand out. “I’m ready to give you a thrashing, now," he said in his most condescending tone, one eyebrow perfectly arched. "If you’re quite finished moping, of course."

“Just try me,” Gladio grinned and grabbed Iggy’s hand, pulling himself up.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta reader is on vacation, so I apologize in advance if there are any mistakes I didn't manage to catch.

Prompto woke up to a splitting headache, the vague sense that he’d said some seriously embarrassing stuff last night, like, even worse than usual, and a text from Noct. Prompto grabbed his phone, hoping everything was cool and this wasn't a break up text, but no, all it said was _gone fishing_

He stared at the words for way too long, trying to think through the throbbing in his head. Maybe this was some kind of secret code. Like, the dude had gone fishing for information, or—or—oh shit, maybe he meant he'd finally sent Ignis to murder him and throw his body in the canal. 

…orrr maybe Noct had literally gone fishing at his favorite spot on the canal and Prompto was just an idiot. He stared up at the ceiling, defeated.

Five minutes later, he still had questions though. Like, was this supposed to be an invitation or just a general status update? Was he luring Prompto there so Ignis could give him a stern lecture and then throw him in for fish bait? Was Noct gonna _break up with him?_ Not that they were dating, but. Uh. 

What had he been thinking about again?

Right. Fishing. He bit his lip and tapped out an answer: _be there after my run_.

There. That seemed safe. It gave Noct enough time to back out if he didn't want to see him and maybe Prompto's head would stop hurting by then. 

He'd gotten maybe half a mile in, pushing through the pain in his head and the shakes in his legs and the nagging certainty that Ignis had poisoned him last night and any minute now he was going to die (and honestly it would be a relief) when the phrase _exceedingly bisexual_ popped into this head. He stopped, nausea snaking through his _entire body_ , and oh good. Look at that. A convenient bench at the side of the trail to fall onto and stare blankly into the distance for awhile.

But remembering those words unlocked a lot of the rest of the night. Like swapping best birthday stories with his buds and Noct remembering every single detail about Prompto's birthday and grinning like he'd actually enjoyed it, too. Noct getting pissed off because, oh, right, Prompto had _offered to be Ignis’s official gay wedding photographer_. The awkward, spinning cab ride home and that moment of sheer genius when he'd become convinced that Noct having a giant crush on Ignis would explain _everything._

Okay, so. Pro: that vague sense that he’d said something embarrassing last night was gone. Con: it was replaced by the complete certainty that he’d said _tons_ of really embarrassing stuff last night, with the bonus knowledge that Ignis thought he was bisexual.

Which. Come on. No way. He’d know by now, right? He was seventeen! He was a—a healthy, growing boy with healthy appetites and a very unhealthy internet search history. And sure, maybe he was _curious_. He was open-minded! He liked to try new things! Weird foods! That didn’t mean he wanted to like, _make out with Noct_ or anything. 

Not that he’d say _no_ if Noct offered, of course, but just to see what it was like. Not, like, as a _hobby_. Just to see if maybe Noct’s hair was as soft as it looked or if he’d close his eyes when their lips touched or if—would there be tongues? Doing things? Would that feel good? Noct’s mouth? On his?

Okay.

Okay. So _maybe_ Prompto needed to reconsider some things. But wanting to make out with Noct wasn’t the same thing as wanting to _date_ him. Or hold his hand. Or—or cuddle on the couch while they watched movies, or take his clothes off and touch his skin and see what he liked and what kind of noises he made and whether he’d hit Prompto with that—that _grin_ of his.

Oh, man. Oh man, he was totally screwed. If Iggy's poison would just kick in already and put him out of his hungover misery, that would be aces.

It didn’t, though, so instead Prompto sat on his bench for another thirty minutes thinking about every guy he’d ever looked at and trying to fit them into his personal hotness scale. Even Gladio and Ignis, and great, now he had to live with _that_ knowledge forever.

Eventually he got distracted by the thought of making out with Noct again. Only problem was, he didn't know if Noct was even into guys, let alone into _Prompto_ , who had a weird nose and eight thousand individual freckles all trying to hide his face from the world. He definitely couldn’t compete with Ignis. Especially now that Ignis had revealed his secret inner fabulousness. That shirt! The hair gel! Those glasses. 

_Plus_ he had _condoms_ at home, just, like. Ready to go! At any time! 

And, uh, who Noct was maybe crushing on, if Prompto had been right last night. Maybe being drunk had somehow given him the power to figure out what was going on in Noct’s head. It was a skill he’d been trying to develop for years with very little success. At least now he had the comfort that Ignis wasn’t very good at it, either. 

But even if Noct was into Ignis, Ignis had a boyfriend, which took him out of the running, right? Unless—unless Ignis dropped Maritus the second Noct asked him out, which he _totally would_ because Ignis would do absolutely anything for Noct. That was, like, the first thing Prompto had ever knew about Ignis. For a long time, it was pretty much the only thing. Now he could add two more things to that list: Ignis was super gay and he had a great boyfriend.

Neither of which had anything to do with whether Noct was straight, or at all interested in making out with Prompto. Man, this was only making his head hurt more.

He wasn't sure how much later it was when his phone buzzed, startling him out of a really detailed fantasy about somehow making this work: the three of them dating, with Gladio as their personal trainer with benefits. It was a text from Noct, finally replying to the message he'd sent over an hour ago: _cool._

Right! Right. Okay, so Noct was still fishing and texting him and they were _probably_ still friends. Nothing was different, except that Prompto was bisexual all of a sudden and suddenly having a lot of intrusive thoughts about making out with Noct. Great.

Oh yeah, and the girl with the hot pink tank top had stopped at his bench like fifteen minutes ago to make sure he was okay and he’d totally brushed her off.

_Awesome._

The run home seemed a lot shorter than the run out had been. He showered and got dressed in record time, grabbing his camera and almost forgetting the most important thing of all: the gift, wrapped by hand in some old newspaper. He shoved it into his bag with everything else and headed out for the canal.

When he got there, Noct was in his usual spot, sitting at the edge of canal, his hat on and his fishing pole out, eyes on the water. 

“Heyaz,” Prompto said, maybe trying too hard to be cool.

“Hey.” But Noct seemed pretty okay, actually. Like... peaceful, even, his head tilted back to squint up at Prompto. “How’s your head?”

“Could be worse,” Prompto said, sitting next to him. “At least that’s what I’m telling myself. It could conceivably be worse. Maybe in an alternate universe where my head has actually been split open in a majorly gory attempted axe murder. How ‘bout you?”

“Not too bad,” Noct said. He probably had special magical royal hangover protection powers. _So_ unfair. “Sun’s not helping. But Iggy poured about a gallon of water down my throat last night.”

“Oh,” Prompto said, trying to figure out if the guy'd had enough time to make Noct drink an entire gallon of water before coming back down. “Good. So he… came back after dropping me off?”

Noct ducked his head, fiddling with the reel. “Yeah. ...He’s cool like that.”

“No kidding." One point for Prompto. Noct _totally_ had a crush on Ignis. Or—wait, maybe that was a point against him. Dammit.

Noct shifted a little, kicking his heels against the walls of the canal. “Maritus broke up with him.”

“No!” Prompto gasped. “What? Why? They were perfect for each other!”

Noct shrugged. “Guess not. He said something about, y’know. Duty coming first and Maritus not being cool with that.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Prompto said. He was probably imagining the hint of a grin on Noct's face. “Taking care of you is like two full-time jobs.”

Noct elbowed him, and yeah, that was a grin. “Jerk.”

“Man,” Prompto said, rubbing at his arm. “That sucks, though. Poor Iggy.”

“He seemed... surprisingly okay with it."

“Huh,” Prompto said slowly, not really sure where to put the points anymore.

“I think maybe we made it into a bigger deal than it was. Kind of embarrassing."

“I guess,” Prompto shrugged. “So the romance is dead, huh?”

“Yep,” Noct said, reeling the line in and casting it again. Prompto snapped a pic, even though the canal was just about the ugliest background he could imagine. Noct looked happy, though. “You want to come over tonight? Ignis is gonna cook. Egg-fried rice.”

“Sure!” Prompto said, probably a little too enthusiastic. “Uh. So. Are we cool? You and me?”

Noct looked over at him, startled. “Yeah,” he said. "Of course. I mean, if you’re cool.”

“Totally cool." 

“Cool,” Noct said, relieved. Then, “I was kind of a jerk last night, huh?”

“Oh, me too.” Prompto said, intensely relieved. “What kind of friend pisses off their best buddy on their _birthday?_ ” He scuffed a shoe on the pavement. "I didn't mean to—"

“I know,” Noct said, sparing him from having to go into details. “I kind of freaked out about the whole thing."

“The whole thing?” What did that even mean?

Noct let out a breath. “About Ignis. Dating. It's just—it was weird.”

“Oh yeah?” Maybe this was Propto's chance! Maybe Noct was about to confess his feelings of undying love for—

“He’s always been there," Noct said, oblivious. "It never occurred to me he might—”

He broke off there, and Prompto couldn’t figure out what to do to help. Encourage him? Squeeze his shoulder? Make out? No, definitely not that last one. He settled on, “Huh?”

Noct shook his head. “Find someone he liked better than me. And leave. Or... not even leave, just. Stop being around all the time.”

“Uh, dude? You know that’s never gonna happen, right?”

Noct shrugged, but his shoulders stayed kinda hunched up. And crap, his buddy was actually upset about this, wasn't he?

“I might not know Ignis that well, but it’s pretty obvious that he likes his job. And you. A lot,” Prompto tried.

Noct took a deep breath. “Maybe.”

“ _Maybe?_ " Prompto protested. "Dude, I'm totally right about this. Trust me. He’s not even subtle about it.”

Noct just snorted, so Prompto swallowed and made himself say it. “And like. I can’t blame him. You’re pretty awesome, dude.”

Noct looked over at him like he’d lost his mind, but you know what? No. Prompto felt sure about this, really sure. For once he didn’t care if anybody agreed with him, because anyone who thought Noct wasn’t _amazing_ was just wrong. Even Noct. Wrong and misguided and Prompto felt bad for them, because they would never know how great his Noct was. 

“You’re funny? And fun? And thoughtful? You care about, like, random kids who lose their balloons in the park and random old ladies who need help with their groceries and even about,” he laughed nervously, “loser fat kids who’re too shy to say hi.”

Noct just blinked, and his faced turned a little red, but like, a nice shade of red. Cute red, not Prompto’s weird splotchy tomato-face red. Prompto thought about making out with him again, for about the eight hundredth time that day. 

Ignis was right. Ignis had been right about everything. He'd also ruined everything about Prompto's life, but he felt weirdly at peace with that right now.

There was a moment of silence, Noct staring at him and Prompto doing his best to not just die on the spot, when Noct finally said, totally dry, “Yeah, and I’m pretty good at King’s Knight, too."

“Whoa there,” Prompto said, somehow managing _not_ to laugh hysterically. “Let’s not go crazy.”

“You forgot stylish and good-looking,” Noct pointed out.

Prompto’s face felt like it’d actually caught fire. “What, are we talking about Ignis now?”

Noct laughed, his face still red. Maybe redder. Probably too much to hope that _he'd_ been the one to get sun-burned for once.

Prompto sat back, kicking his heels and taking a few more pics. “So how long have you been out here?”

“Dunno.”

“Are you trying out your new lures?”

He grinned. “Uh-huh. How'd you know?"

"Oh, uh," Prompto kicked his heels again, "Ignis might've mentioned it when I asked him if he had any good ideas about what to get you."

Noct arched an eyebrow at him, smirking a little. "Oh yeah? So did you get me anything?"

Prompto resisted the urge to pull out the gift out of his bag and shove it at him. "Just gotta wait and see," he said instead. It didn't really seem like the right moment yet, and anyway, he had all evening. His stomach growled at the thought of Iggy's cooking. He ignored it. “So is anything biting?” 

“Nope," Noct said, perfectly content.

“Does anything _normally_ bite this early in the afternoon?”

“Nah.”

Prompto laughed. “Okay then.”

He'd almost given up on the afternoon when Noct finally let out a yawn. He stretched, rolling his neck, and reeled his line back in slow and steady. Took off his lure, carefully putting it back in the special case with the others, and dropped the rod. It still gave Prompto goosebumps watching it shimmer away into thin air

He kicked Prompto's elbow gently. "C'mon, let's go."

"Sure you don't want to spend another few hours catching nothing?"

Noct rolled his eyes, grinning, and pulled him into a headlock. "If you don't want to come over you can just say so."

"What? No!" Prompto scrambled up. "I never said that!" 

Noct laughed. It made Prompto's heart do a weird little flip flop, and oh _man_ he was screwed. 

_Keep it cool, Prompto. Pull yourself together._ He had this. It was just dinner with Noct, his best buddy in the whole world and his two super hot friends. 

Oh yeah. He was totally screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh, so you may have noticed that Prompto now has a crush on Noct, despite the fact that this fic is tagged as Noctis/Ignis. I've had this planned since the beginning (although the intensity took me a bit by surprise. Poor Prompto doesn't do things by halves, does he?) 
> 
> Anyway, this particular story isn't about Noct and Prompto getting together so I've been reluctant to tag it as such. I apologize if I threw anyone for a loop by Prompto's untagged crushing! I promise we'll get back to Noct and Ignis soon.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience while I finished editing this chapter! I can't believe we're almost at the end of this fic. One chapter to go!

The walk back to Noct's apartment was nice and leisurely, as Ignis would say. Or at least, that was what Prompto pictured him saying, his arms crossed and that fond little smirk that appeared on his face whenever he looked at Noct and thought no one was watching. Prompto'd managed to snap a few photos of it, but he hadn't quite gotten up the courage to show anyone yet. 

It was a perfect late-summer day, the breeze warm and the sun shining down and glittering against the glass windows. Noct seemed pretty content to wander home. He didn't even seem to mind when Prompto stopped to take a photo every few blocks. There were squirrels scampering around and cats stretched out on windowsills, Noct hanging out next to him and leaning over Prompto's shoulder to look at the photos he'd taken.

Prompto let him look and did his best to not be weird about it. Noct, interested and laughing and in his personal bubble. It wasn't like anything had changed, right? He was just suddenly aware of how _kissable_ Noct's mouth was. And maybe his ears? Would it be hot to kiss Noct's ears?

Focus, Prompto. 

He still hadn't figured out what the difference was when they reached Noct's apartment. Noct immediately collapsed on the couch, sprawling out. 

"Greetings," Ignis called from the kitchen. He was in his apron, already getting started on dinner, soaking rice and washing veggies. Noct ignored him, eyes closed. There was no way he'd fallen asleep already, right? "Any success?"

"Nope," Prompto said cheerfully. And oh crap, "You kept the hair!" he exclaimed. He'd even kept the shirt! And the glasses!

Ignis glanced at him, a little embarrassed. “Only by royal decree." 

Prompto laughed. “Good to see he’s taking his duties seriously.”

Ignis sighed. He glanced at Noct on the couch and cleared his throat, wiping his hands off on a towel. "I do hope you remembered to wear sunscreen and stay well-hydrated."

Noct groaned.

"Ah," Ignis said delicately, reaching up to get a glass from the cupboard. He even put some ice cubes in before bringing it over to Noct, a beautiful, sparkling glass of water. Prompto had never felt so thirsty in his life. "Drink up," he said gently, handing it over.

Noct groaned again, but he sat up and took a small sip before laying back down on the couch. He was snoring within seconds. 

"How does he do it?" Prompto murmured.

Ignis laughed, to his surprise, and set the glass down on the table next to Noct.

“Hey, uh, sorry to hear about Maritus, though,” Prompto told him, following him back into the kitchen. He settled helpfully onto a stool, staying out of the way.

“Don’t be,” Ignis said cheerfully, keeping his voice down. He held up a knife, examining the blade for nicks, before starting on the celery. “It’s for the best.”

It was actually kind of irritating how _not_ heartbroken he was. “Are you sure you’re not still drunk?” Prompto asked suspiciously.

Ignis chuckled quietly, prepping the celery. After a few minutes of dicing in quiet companionship, he said, “I believe I owe you an apology. I was not at my most tactful last night.”

Oooh, maybe he _was_ heartbroken, he just hadn't wanted to say anything last night in case it ruined Noct’s birthday. And that was probably why he'd been all snippy in the cab! “Don’t worry about it,” Prompto told him, feeling a little better about the whole situation and, weirdly, a little more fond of Iggy. “I was being kind of annoying. Which, hah, I mean, not like that's exactly _new_ , but. Uh. I had a really good time?”

“Glad to hear it,” Ignis said warmly, scraping the celery into a pot and starting on some carrots. 

Prompto snuck a glance over at Noct, still passed out on the couch. Good thing, too. Noct would flip out if he knew Ignis was putting _carrots_ in his food.

“Uh.” Prompto kicked his feet against the stool. “And, uh. For what it’s worth, I think you’re right. About." He lowered his voice. "Y'know. _Stuff_.”

Ignis glanced over, adjusted his glasses. Went back to chopping. “I usually am.”

Prompto laughed, calmly and not hysterically at all. "I mean, of course you would be."

Ignis arched an eyebrow at him. Had Prompto really given him only a seven and a half out of ten? The dude was at _least_ an eight. Maybe a nine.

"Like, your gaydar must be off the scales," Prompto explained, taking his entire foot and shoving it directly into his mouth, all the way down and through his gut. 

"Perhaps," Ignis said mildly, and oh crap, Prompto was about to die, "though I was referring to my accuracy in more general terms."

"Hmmmmmm," Prompto articulated, keeping his mouth firmly closed around whatever words were trying to escape. Whatever they were, they couldn't possibly be good. "But, I mean, your gaydar's gotta be pretty good, right?" 

"I suppose in this particular case, yes." Ignis was humoring him.

"Ohhhhhh," Prompto said, sounding pretty much exactly like a dying whale. The words were right on the tip of his tongue, begging to be said: _so what about Noct?_ , but there was no way he was going to ask _Ignis_ if _the Crown Prince of Lucis_ was straight. Besides, even if Ignis knew, there was no way he'd just tell Prompto, because unlike Prompto, Ignis was a good friend. Prompto couldn't even work up the nerve to ask Noct himself.

Anyway, if Ignis said _yes, he is totally one hundred percent into women_ Prompto would probably burst into tears and he _really_ didn't want to cry in front of Ignis. He’d come close enough last night. Instead, he forced out, “So, uh, did you figure out why Noct was being so weird about this whole thing?”

Ignis paused in the act of chopping, the knife hovering just above the board. Prompto got the feeling he’d narrowly avoided cutting himself. He looked up and glanced over Prompto’s shoulder at Noct, still snoring softly on the couch. “Not... entirely,” Ignis said softly. “But your insights last night were most helpful.” 

Prompto mentally gave himself a high five.

Ignis was still looking past him towards Noct. “Though I take pride in knowing the prince at least as well he knows himself, I do on occasion find myself at something of a loss.”

“No kidding,” Prompto agreed. Ignis lifted the knife again, carefully lining up the carrots. “So, uh, do you know if he’s straight?”

This time Ignis _did_ cut himself. 

Prompto screamed—only really quietly, so he didn't wake Noct—and didn't stop until Ignis held up a finger for silence. 

“Um, um, put it under running water,” Prompto told him in a rush, even though Ignis was already doing that. “Make sure it’s clean. Definitely don’t faint.”

Ignis looked at him, slightly alarmed. 

“Don’t do it,” Prompto repeated, whispering.

Ignis wrapped his finger in a paper towel and moved to the bathroom, maybe to faint. He didn't, though, just calmly pulled out a first aid kit. Prompto was so amazed Noct actually had one in his apartment that it took him a minute to realize of _course_ he did. Ignis had bought it, just like Ignis took care of every other responsible adult thing in Noct’s life. 

By then, Ignis had already bandaged himself up, entirely without Prompto’s help. 

“Um. Do you need me to drive you to the hospital?” he offered.

Ignis gave him a look that very clearly and eloquently said, _I’d rather not sustain any further injuries at your hands today, but I thank you._ And how about that, Prompto was finally starting to be able to read him. “No,” Iggy said graciously instead. “But I thank you. The cut is not as deep as it looks.”

“Right," Prompto laughed nervously. "Sorry, Iggy. _Ignis_. I—I’m really sorry.”

Ignis sighed, waving that off. “It's fine,” he said wearily. "And—" another sigh, "—call me whatever you like."

Prompto stared. “Really?!” 

“I’ve very little dignity left to preserve, it seems.”

“Dignity’s overrated,” Prompto reassured him. 

Ignis gave a delicate little snort and they headed back to the kitchen together.

Iggy still managed to be really good at dicing vegetables, even with his injury. It just wasn't fair. He'd almost finished the food prep when Gladio showed up with a six-pack of beer that nobody else even wanted to look at, let alone drink. 

"Too soon, dude," Prompto told him. "Way too soon."

Gladio laughed. "Wuss," he smirked and cracked one open, just to rub it in.

Once Ignis had finished up in the kitchen, Prompto and Gladio walked him through the basics of King's Knight at the kitchen table while they waited for Noct to wake up. They'd almost made it through the tutorial when Noct stretched, groaning, and padded over to join them.

He spotted Ignis’s bandage right away. “What happened to you?” Noct asked, yawning.

“Nothing,” Prompto and Ignis both said at exactly the same time, in two totally different and equally unconvincing tones of voice.

Noct looked profoundly disturbed by that. 

“A small misadventure in the kitchen,” Ignis explained. “As they say, one can’t make an omelette without cracking a few eggs.”

“And one can’t make egg-fried rice without offering a blood sacrifice,” Prompto finished. Ignis let out a startled laugh.

For some reason, Noct didn’t seem to find that funny _or_ reassuring. “Sorry I asked,” he said dryly. “So is dinner ready, or what?”

“We’re just about finished, here,” Ignis said, tapping at his phone, his legs crossed elegantly, and oh yeah, he was at least an eight and a half. “Would you be so kind as to set the table, Noct?”

Noct stared at him for a sec. “Uh, okay,” he said slowly. He looked like he thought he might still be dreaming. He pulled four plates out anyway, setting them on the table. Dumped the silverware in a pile on the table next to them.

Ignis stood up, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "Excellent work, Noctis," he said. "Are we ready for dinner?"

Noct grinned. "Ready when you are."

And okay, Prompto had sat there and watched Ignis cook everything—he'd even watched him give the blood sacrifice—and he still had trouble believing it wasn't take out from the best restaurant in town. "This is really good," he said, mouth still a little full. He swallowed down his bite. "Uh, sorry, it's just—it's really good."

Ignis huffed out a pleased breath. "Don't mention it."

And it wasn't just the food that was good. Everyone was eating and laughing and chatting and—yeah. This was nice. Really, really nice. 

"Coffee and dessert?" Ignis asked when they'd started to slow down.

Noct groaned. "I don't think I can eat another bite."

"No reason the rest of us can't indulge," Ignis said and pushed his chair back, getting up. "I'll put a pot on."

Prompto waited until Iggy was in the kitchen to say, "I, uh. Stay right there, Noct, I have a thing. For you."

Noct raised an eyebrow. "A thing, huh?"

"For your birthday," Prompto insisted. "It's no biggie."

Noct shrugged. "If you say so."

Prompto went out into the hallway to root through his bag. There was too much tape and the edges of the paper were all tattered, but at least it covered everything, right?

He was kinda nervous about giving Noct his present right there in front of everyone, but Iggy would probably want to see it, at least. And besides, they were all here, just like in the photo. All four of them. Together. 

"It's, uh, it's okay if you don't like it," Prompto blurted before he handed the gift over. "I mean, it's—it's nothing big." 

"I'll be the judge of that," Noct grinned and took. He glanced behind him towards the kitchen. "Hey, Ignis, you coming?"

"On my way," Ignis said, wiping his hands off and coming over with two cups of coffee in one hand. 

Noct took one of the cups from him, barely looking at it, and started unwrapping the present. It wasn't like he was slow about it, but Prompto's nerves were still jangling by the time he pulled it out. Noct held the framed photo and looked down at the four of them posing in front of a food vendor at the Lucian Foods Fest last year. He stared at it for what had to be an entire century, and could Noct just say whether he liked it or not? The suspense was killing Prompto, here. 

Noct finally turned to look at him. He had this small, happy grin on his face, and this time it was all for Prompto. "Dude," he said, "this is good." He looked at it again. "I mean it." 

Ignis cleared his throat pointedly.

"Thanks," Noct added, still with that dorky grin of his that made Prompto feel pretty okay with himself. 

"Uh, yeah!" Prompto told him, totally smooth and cool. It felt like he was grinning so hard his mouth was gonna cramp up. "No prob! Glad you liked it, buddy."

Ignis got up to bring everyone else a coffee and they all settled in, reminiscing about old times and new festivals coming up. 

At some point, Ignis cleared his throat and said, "Noct, would you mind helping me with the dishes?"

Noct blinked. "Uh. I guess."

There was a little smile tugging at the corner of Iggy's mouth. Prompto would've missed it if he hadn't been staring so hard. "I'm afraid my finger is bothering me. Perhaps you could wash if I dried?"

"Whoa!" Prompto broke in, "Whoa, no, what? It's my fault, buddy, let me dry."

And now it was Ignis's turn to blink. He opened his mouth, glanced at Gladio, and closed it again. "That would be very kind, thank you Prompto," he said finally. 

It turned out that very few of Noct's dishes actually needed to be washed _or_ dried by hand. Prompto felt profoundly grateful for the existence of Noct's dishwasher.

"The knives!" Ignis called from the couch. "And be sure you use the soft side of the sponge when cleaning the pan!"

Gladio snorted. "You're worse than a mother hen."

Ignis ignored that. And huh. Prompto'd never really thought about it before, but _Ig_ nis? _Ignore?_ It—okay, it didn't make any sense, but also it kinda did, if you squinted hard and really thought about it. 

"Hey Noct," Prompto said, "you ever notice that Ignis's name is—"

"And see that you dry the knives promptly!" Ignis added.

"You know, you could help," Noct called back.

"I'm rather enjoying the change of pace," Ignis said serenely.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Noct muttered darkly.

"Dude," Prompto said, "he probably deserves it."

Noct rolled his eyes but let it go. 

Eventually Ignis and Gladio left and this weird sort of feeling crawled into Prompto’s stomach and settled in for the night. 

Prompto was alone with Noct, in Noct’s apartment, probably for a sleepover. A day or so ago there would have been nothing weird or nerve-wracking about it at all, but here he was, his heart beating against his chest like it wanted to move out and stay in Noct's apartment forever.

Prompto wasn't the smartest kid in class, but even he knew it would be an epically bad idea to listen to anything his heart was telling him right now. "Okay," he said instead, rubbing his hands together. Why did his voice sound so weird? And loud? And weirdly loud? “Who’s ready to study for algebra?”

Noct looked at him blankly. “You, I guess?”

“C’mon, buddy!" he said, maybe just a little desperately. "What better way to end the perfect night than with solving some totally sick equations?”

Noct stared at him for a really long time. The weird feeling in Prompto’s stomach woke up, turned around three times, and lay back down.

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Noct said eventually. The two of them grabbed their notes, Prompto a bit frantically and Noct a _lot_ reluctantly and settled in on the couch to study.

Prompto actually managed to get through half a dozen questions before he finally accepted that the weird feeling in his stomach was there to stay. No amount of math or fidgeting or studying Noct’s hair and his face and the way his hair hid his face was going to fix it. 

He didn’t have butterflies in his stomach, he had caterpillars. Hundreds of very hungry caterpillars gnawing away at his insides, and if he didn’t open his stupid mouth soon and get this over with they were going to eat him alive.

“Sooo,” he said. Good. That was a start.

Noct barely looked up from the homework.

“Uh.” Prompto took a deep breath, telling himself to just say it. Just say it just say just say it— “You’re straight, right Noct?”

Noct stared at him. Then blinked, really slowly. Was he shocked? Confused? Ready for a nap? All of the above?

“You know,” Prompto said helpfully. “Like... heterosexual?”

“I... guess?” Noct said, after exactly three hundred hours of blinking and staring. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

“You’ve never really _thought_ about it?” Prompto _never really_ thought about anything _else!_ "Okay, but you like girls, right?" Noct was still just looking at him like he'd burst into Old Lucian. "Besides the Lady Lunafreya, of course."

Noct glanced down at his homework, like a sheet full of equations was going to help him with this. "I don't _dis_ like them."

Great. He didn't dislike them. So helpful. "Okaaay, so what about guys?"

Noct's mouth did this cute thing where it turned down even harder at the corners. After a long second he finally looked up at Prompto. "We're talking about sex, right?"

"Or, you know, the things leading up to sex too," Prompto babbled. "Kissing. Dating. Groping. _Eye_ groping."

"What?!" Noct protested. " _Ew._ "

"Not, like, physically!" Prompto said. "Just, like, you know. _Eye groping_." He gestured vaguely.

"Checking someone out?" Noct asked, an eyebrow arched.

Prompto nodded, hopelessly and helplessly.

"It’s not like I’m gonna get to pick who I marry.”

“Well, yeah, but," Prompto sputtered, "the ladies would be lining up to ask you out if you’d actually talk? To any of them? Or guys, guys would be lining up too. If, you know, if you wanted.”

Noct made a face, his shoulders hunched up, glaring at the homework. Crap. "Why would I want to?" he asked, his voice this quiet little growl that was definitely upsetting and not at all sexy. “They don’t want to go out with me. They want to go out with a prince.”

Prompto wanted to scream _SO?!?!?!_ But this was a big deal for Noct. Always had been, as long as he'd known him. “Okay, but do _you_ want to go out with any of _them?_ ”

Noct barely thought about it. “I don’t really know them.”

“But—”

“Look, Prompto, if you want to date them, go ahead. Is that what this is about?”

Crap. Now he was annoyed. “No! No it’s—I mean, _yeah_ , obviously, I want to date them, I—uh. I like girls. Like, a lot. A lot of girls.” 

Noct rolled his eyes, but at least he was grinning a little now. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Prompto laughed, too hard and for way too long. “Um. But I, uh. Have been thinking. That maybe there might be, like? A few guys? That I might. Y’know. Be into.”

Another long, slow blink. Then, “That’s cool.” 

That’s cool, he said. That’s _cool_. Prompto could have told him he was having Oatie-O's for breakfast tomorrow and gotten more of a reaction. 

“Like who?” Noct asked.

Prompto swallowed. The caterpillars all spontaneously turned into butterflies and left his body, taking his mortal soul and all of his vocabulary with them. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but the only thing coming to mind was _you. You. Noctis Lucis Caelum, His Highness the Crown Prince of Lucis, 114th Heir to the Lucian throne._ “Uhhhhhhhhhh,” he finally managed. C' _mon_ , Prompto, think. He'd just made a list! A very long list of every guy he'd ever met ranked for hotness, with his best buddy who was watching him and waiting for an answer at the very top. “A-Adrian Faber?”

Noct laughed. “The guy from _Mortal Enemy_? He’s like, forty!”

“He does his own stunts!” Prompto argued, because that sounded better than _He got naked in the sequel and I saw it eight times and maybe that's not a coincidence_.

Noct scoffed. “Who else?”

“Um. Like. Teodoro? In Civics class?”

Noct took that in. “I guess I can see that. He seems pretty cool.” He went back to looking at his homework.

What did that _mean?_ But Noct was pretty much done with the conversation if he would rather do algebra than talk about who they liked. Prompto managed to finish a few more problems before he couldn't take it any longer. “Okay,” he said," but, like, there's got to be _someone_ who floats your boat. One whole person you maybe wouldn't mind making out with."

Noct hesitated. 

"In an alternate universe where you could marry whoever you want." Prompto thought about it. " _And_ Lady Lunafreya doesn't count."

Noct snorted. He was still looking down at his homework, only this time he had this thoughtful expression on his face. Prompto was pretty sure this time he wasn't actually trying to solve any of the equations. He finally said, "There might be one or two."

Oh-em-gee. " _Spill_ ," Prompto demanded.

Noct shrugged. 

"Dude," Prompto protested. "You can't just say something like that and not share!"

Noct didn't say anything.

"Okay, okay," Prompto said. "At least tell me if you're thinking about a girl or a guy."

Noct still didn't say anything, but his face looked a little flushed. 

"Is it someone I know?"

"Just—drop it Prompto, okay?" 

That was a definite yes, then. And _that_ meant— "One more question," Prompto promised, "and then my lips are sealed. Promise." 

Noct snorted out a sarcastic laugh. He didn't look super happy about this, and okay, they were on some tentative ground right now after last night, but Prompto just had to know. "Is it someone from school?"

" _No,_ " he snapped. "No—it's not—" He let out a breath. "No. Now can we _please_ move on?"

Prompto was pretty sure the caterpillars were back, only this time they were hungry hungry caterpillars gnawing away at his insides. Okay. So. Pro: that really narrowed down the playing field. Con: Prompto _was_ someone from school. 

But also, pro: Noct had hesitated, like maybe the person he was thinking of didn't quite fit into the general school category, even if they might, technically, still be in school. Or! _Or_. He'd say there were a couple of people, right? Maybe—maybe Prompto could still be right about the giant crush Noct had on Ignis _and_ still have a chance with Noct himself. Only that'd suck for Ignis—

Wait, what? It'd suck for Ignis? Did some part of Prompto think Ignis had a crush on _Noct?_ That was—that was crazy, right? Someone as competent and perfect as Ignis having a crush on _Noct?_ But—it would explain some things. A lot of things, actually. And it wasn't like Prompto could blame him, Noct was a pretty amazing dude.

Only—crap. If _that_ was true, if Ignis really did have a crush on Noct, there was no _way_ he would ever make a move. Prompto didn't know Ignis that well, but he knew that. And Noct would never make a move either, because he couldn't even admit to it in a parallel universe, let alone _this_ one, even though he had his very own sexy butler desperately waiting for the slightest hint of passion from his prince.

Okay. Okay. So if _that_ was the case, it was basically Prompto's duty as Noct's best friend to make sure it happened, right? He just had to make a plan of action, with bullet points and—and color charts and stuff, Ignis-style. First on the list: proving that Noct had a crush on Ignis and that he wasn't totally wrong about Ignis.

Noct yawned, interrupting his plans. "Are we done with algebra yet?"

"Huh?" Prompto blinked down at his homework, half finished. "Oh. Uh. Yeah."

"About time." Noct closed his textbook with relish. "Want to find a movie with Adrian Faber in it?"

Prompto stared at him. He could feel his face slowly heat up until it probably looked like one giant freckle. "That—that would be seriously cool, dude."

Noct grinned at him before ruining the moment with another yawn. "Cool. Go get it started."

Prompto practically bounced off the bed. "Sure thing, buddy! You have any popcorn left?"

"Probably." He could _hear_ Noct's shrug. "Ignis stocked up earlier today."

Prompto found a whole box of it in the cupboard, just where it always ended up. He threw it in the microwave and turned on the TV, scrolling through the options until he found what he was looking for: _Mortal Enemy: Ultimate Challenge_. 

One more thing Ignis had been right about: Noct had been cool about the whole thing. Super cool. He was Prompto's buddy and, yeah, okay, his biggest crush, but he was also the _best_ best buddy Prompto could ever ask for.

Noct deserved to be happy, as happy as Prompto felt right now. And if Noct had a crush on Ignis, well. Prompto was good with people. He could make this happen.


	12. Chapter 12

There was absolutely no reason for Ignis to be nervous, yet he felt as though he were about to give a presentation to the Council instead of knocking on the door to Noct's flat. He didn't answer, but then he rarely did, so Ignis put the key to the lock and stepped in.

"Noct?" he called, removing his shoes. 

"Just—about ready," Noct said, his voice muffled. In the bedroom, then. 

Ignis half expected to find Noct getting out of bed, but when he stepped into the bedroom, Noct was examining himself in the mirror, dressed in a dark suit with his hair brushed back in a rakish angle. His tie was very slightly askew. 

Ignis's fingers twitched. "Well," he said. "You do clean up quite nicely then, hmm?"

Noctis gave him a lazy smirk. "Don't know why I bothered. No reason to dress up when you already look _this_ good."

"If you say so," Ignis told him dryly. "And the tie…?"

Noct groaned, moving his fingers up to try and adjust it, but he only succeeded in making it worse. "What's wrong with it now?"

"It's gone awry," he said before realizing it would just be easier to fix it himself. He reached out set it straight and Noct let him, standing uncharacteristically still. "Apologies," Ignis said immediately, backing up to give him his space. Perhaps he had gone too far—

"For what?" Noct laughed, fiddling with the tie. He was only going to offset it again. 

Ignis opened his mouth. "That was presumptuous of me. I should at the very least have asked permission before providing assistance."

"It's fine," Noct said, dryly amused. "You don't have to ask every time you want to touch me, you know. I'm not some museum piece."

Ignis gave a curt nod, unwilling to examine that any further. "Shall we be off, then?"

Noct grinned at him. "You know it. Our big night out on the town."

"I hope you are prepared to be disappointed."

"Come on, what's not to like?" Noct protested, his grin turning sly. "Culture, art, fine dining—"

"Who said anything about fine dining?" Ignis protested. "Are _you_ planning to pay?"

Noct snorted. "Some date you are," he said. And then, seeing the expression on Ignis's face, "Kidding, Specs. Let's go."

Ignis's chest was strangely tight, his pulse elevated. Perhaps he'd had too many Ebonies this afternoon. "Lead the way."

On the drive to the art gallery, Ignis attempted to provide Noct with a brief history of the gallery and what little he'd gleaned about Lucian art from Martius. He touched briefly on the different periods as well as their more prominent artists and themes. Noct nodded and then very nearly nodded off, but they reached their destination before he could truly begin drowsing. 

The attendants took their tickets without much fuss, to Ignis's relief. Noct grew understandably uncomfortable when people paid him much attention, and a misplaced _your highness_ could very well have ruined the night. They wandered through the foyer and into the main gallery, a piece of art in and of itself. The architecture was a sublime work of soaring archways and glass walls, with the crowning glory placed front and center: two enormous frescoes lining the passage to the exhibits. On one side, the astrals' creation of the world, and on the other, the war that nearly destroyed it.

Noct faltered to a halt several steps past the foyer. "Wow," he breathed.

"Magnificent," Ignis agreed, his voice hushed. It was awe-inspiring, with a depth and intensity that felt almost alive. Noct seemed equally impressed, taking in each scene, moving closer to examine the details, his hand lifted as if in greeting. Ignis had to remind himself that he was here to look at the art instead of Noctis, but by then, Noct had finished his examination and seemed ready to move on. 

"Where do you propose we start?" Ignis asked.

Noct shrugged. "Up to you," he said, spreading his hands. "It's your night, isn't it?"

Ignis cleared his throat. "Very well. Let's begin with the modern art exhibit in the new wing, then."

"If you say so," he said skeptically, but followed Ignis in. It was a disappointingly small exhibit, all things considered, but the walls were covered in bright splashes of color.

"Some of the most famous Insomnian artists have their works housed here," Ignis informed him.

Noct gave him a sidelong glance. "What about Maritus? Is he in here?"

Ignis let out a startled laugh. "I'm afraid not," he said, assuming Noct was referring to the paintings. He rather hoped Martius had not chosen to come to the gallery tonight of all nights. "He's more of a curator than a creator."

Noct nodded, looking relieved, and wandered over to inspect one of the framed paintings up close. He'd chosen a rather unremarkable piece, the background a solid ivory with a broad, orange stripe running horizontally across its face, with three black circles placed at odd locations throughout. The asymmetry was somewhat off-putting.

Noct shifted, frowning, hands on his hips. "What the hell is _this_ supposed to be about?"

Ignis glanced at the placard. The title of the piece, _Fallacy_ , was hardly illuminating. "Not every work of art needs to have a concrete meaning," he explained. "For example, some may only be abstract visualizations of color and shape that particularly resonated with the artist."

Noct stared at him, his eyelids heavy, but his mouth had curled up at one corner. "So you're saying it's all meaningless?"

Ignis laughed, startled. He finally recovered himself enough to say, "Based on the period, the choice of medium, and my own knowledge of Lucian culture and history, I haven't the faintest clue," and was rewarded by Noct's laugh, low and rich.

"You know, I bet Maritus could help you out with that," Noct said.

Ignis arched an eyebrow. "With making sense of this painting?" he asked skeptically.

Noct nodded.

"Yes, well, it is a shame, isn't it," he said, keeping his tone perfectly dry. "I suppose I'll forever have to live with the mystery of why this particular artist drew an orange line across an otherwise blank canvas."

Noct grinned at him, warm and close. An echo of the grin he'd offered Ignis the morning after his birthday party, when he'd stumbled out of his room and found Ignis making coffee. Ignis stepped back, catching his breath and his wits again. 

It was possible this outing had been a mistake. 

After a moment, Noct asked, "What about that one?" and jerked his head at a large canvas of carefully framed chaos. It had all the appeal of a messy kitchen.

Ignis cleared his throat. "Art is meant to evoke an emotion or reaction in the viewer," he tried.

"Well, this one's evoking confusion," Noct muttered, and covered a yawn.

"And boredom, evidently," he said. "Perhaps we should try another exhibit."

"You said the government gives this place money?" Noct asked, ignoring the suggestion as he moved on to the next piece. It seemed he had been paying attention during the car ride after all. "To display this? How is _that_ a good use of resources?"

"You saw the Creation and Destruction of Eos," Ignis pointed out. "Certainly there's worth in preserving such art for future generations. And the gallery itself is a work of art, a testament to Lucian talent and technology."

Noct groaned. 

"Then perhaps you have a better idea of its value," he suggested, offering him the opportunity to find his own meaning.

Noct was suspiciously silent, arms crossed, frowning at a collection of coloured squares. He had no appreciation for the arts, did he. He glanced around at the scattered guests and said at last, "I mean, I guess it's a good place for people to go on dates."

Ignis nearly tripped over his own feet. He cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses in an attempt to avoid Noct's interested glance. "Yes, well. I'm sure I know nothing about that." Noctis was laughing quietly at him. Ignis's face felt distinctly warm. "Perhaps it's time to move on to another exhibit?"

"After you," Noct said smugly. 

Ignis led him out of the new wing and deeper into the gallery. They passed briefly through 'An Insomnian Perspective: Photographs From Inside the Wall,' but didn't linger long.

"Prompto's are better," Noct muttered.

"Perhaps you could bring him here, later," Ignis suggested.

He shrugged. "Maybe," and that was that, so they moved on. 

The eastern wing held art depicting the Territories, a subject that seemed to finally catch Noct's attention. He stood for some time examining a sweeping landscape of the open wilderness with the Disc of Cauthess as a stunning backdrop.

"Is that really what it's like out there?" Noct asked wonderingly.

"I wouldn't know," Ignis admitted, leaning in to get a look at the brush strokes. The painted sky was the warm gold of a summer dawn, untouched by even a wisp of cloud. "But from what I've seen on the news, the invasion wreaked considerable havoc on the landscape. If this is the Cleigne region, it should have seen less fighting than Leide." He adjusted his cuffs. "No doubt a modern version of this image would show more than one Imperial garrison, as well as a few petrol stations, perhaps."

"It's beautiful," Noct said.

"Indeed," Ignis agreed. "But very dangerous, I've no doubt. You'll note this painting is also missing the myriad daemons and dangerous beasts of the outlands."

"You think we'll ever get to see it?" Noct asked.

Ignis had neither the optimism nor the heart to answer him. "Did you see any of it on your visit to the Oracle?"

Noct shook his head. "Even if I'd been awake, I probably wouldn't have allowed to look out the window."

"Too dangerous," Ignis guessed.

Noct shook his head and pulled himself away from the landscape reluctantly, and wandered over to another piece. A seemingly endless field of wild sylleblossoms. "Looks kinda familiar," he said.

"Perhaps a memory from your time in Tenebrae."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Eventually they moved on and found themselves in the classical exhibit, a cultural trove featuring the royal Lucian line and their possessions.

"Whoa," Noct said leaning forward to squint at a painting that was already far larger than necessary. "What is this, an angry man yelling at the woods?"

Ignis blinked, taking it in. The placard informed him this particular piece had been named Defiance and was well over two hundred years old. It offered little help. "It does rather look that way." 

Noct rubbed absently at his wrist. "Kinda reminds me of Gladio."

It was far too easy to picture Gladio standing defiantly in the middle of the woods, yelling. "Perhaps one of his ancestors," Ignis agreed. "Stands to reason they might be here along with your family. The Amicitias have a long family line."

Noct huffed out a breath of amusement. "Yeah, you're probably right." He frowned. "Do you think any of your ancestors might be in here?"

Ignis carefully adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, trying to shake off the sudden tightness in his chest. "My family hails from Tenebrae," he said finally. "Our history in Insomnia reaches back no more than two generations." It sounded a good sight better than _portraits are not commissioned for advisors nor retainers_. Noct seemed to accept it, much to Ignis's relief.

Ignis moved on, pausing in front of a beautiful display of antique pottery. "Did you know this vase was owned by your great, great, great grandfather?" he murmured.

"Huh?" Noct asked, obviously distracted.

Ignis turned to see what had so captured his attention. Noct was staring at a statue of one of the ancient Lucian kings. A very detailed, very _nude_ statue.

 _Well._  

They stared at it together in silence for nearly half a minute before Ignis finally found his voice. "I see you've found Augustus the Tall, your grandfather's great grandfather."

"Uh."

"You were asking why the government supports the arts?" 

"Yeah, um. I'm starting to think maybe I'll put a stop to that tradition," Noct muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck. His cheeks were just slightly pink. 

"Clearly _he_ ate his vegetables."

Noct glared at him. "Very funny."

Ignis adjusted his glasses, hiding his smirk. 

"Well it won't work," Noct said stubbornly. 

"I beg your pardon?" Ignis asked, feigning innocence. 

"I won't eat them."

He nodded. "Indeed. I suspect it would be rather too late for you, anyway. You've already stunted your growth."

"W-what?!" Noct protested, punching him on the arm. Ignis laughed, feeling a touch breathless. "I'm fine and you know it."

"If you insist," he finally managed. "Come. There are more rooms."

"Great," Noct groaned. " _Rooms_ full of my naked ancestors. Exactly how I wanted to spend my night.."

Ignis laughed again, perhaps too loudly. A gallery attendant glared at him and he found, suddenly, that he couldn't stop. He was _giggling_ at an _art gallery_. He was an embarrassment, but Noct grinned at him, wide and bright, and Ignis couldn't quite convince himself to be ashamed.

As it turned out, the other rooms housed more portraits and busts, along with some of the royalty's prized possessions: vases inlaid with gold and gems, a jewelled dagger, an intricate silk robe, and a greater-than-life sized portrait of a man they both knew very well.

"Oh hey, it's dad," Noct said.

"Indeed." The painting was a grand affair that took up nearly the entire wall. King Regis's expression was wise and commanding and his eyes seemed to follow them as they wandered through the room. He was watching them, eyebrows drawn with concern as they leaned in to examine an exquisitely inlaid bracelet, their shoulders brushing together.

Ignis almost leapt away. _It was Noct's idea,_ he wanted to yell at the portrait. _This is most emphatically not a date,_ would be better, or perhaps, simply, _Forgive me._

He cleared his throat, instead. Adjusted his glasses. "I suppose you'll be in here one day," he eventually managed.

"I'm here now, aren't I?" Noct protested. "I'd say that's good enough."

"And yet I seem to be the only one looking at you," Ignis pointed out dryly.

Noct smirked at him. "I guess you're the only one here with good taste, then."

Ignis swallowed, his face far too warm all of a sudden. He did his best to ignore Regis's judgmental gaze heavy behind him. "I really couldn't say."

Noctis shifted, his expression contemplative. "It's weird to think about, though. Hanging on the walls, scaring the next generation."

Ignis opened his mouth, ready and willing to continue the joke, but instead found himself saying, "I find that rather difficult to imagine." Noct's royal portrait would be truly stunning, if the artist could convince him to sit still.

Noct arched an eyebrow at him, clearly skeptical.

"Perhaps as an inspiration for the children," he added, "to encourage them to enjoy naptime."

Noct rolled his eyes. "Maybe I'll have someone make a sculpture of _me._ Get them to really emphasize my muscles."

Ignis huffed out a laugh. "Indeed. They'll scarce include them if you don't."

"Hey!" Noct protested. "Try saying that again in the sparring room."

"With pleasure," Ignis said agreeably. Then, "It seems we've reached the belligerent stage of art appreciation. I'd say we've had enough culture for one night."

"Then let's go," Noct said fervently.

"You're quite sure you wouldn't like to take in a few more naked kings of yore?"

Noct groaned.

"I hope it wasn't too boring," Ignis said as they made their back to the front entrance.

Noctis shrugged. "It wasn't as bad as I thought. We should do it again, sometime."

"Go to the art gallery?" Ignis asked, amused.

"No," he said hastily. "Just, you know. Doing whatever. When you're _not_ on the job."

Ignis adjusted his glasses. "I've heard _The Barber of Solheim_ has been getting excellent reviews at the opera house," he began.

Noct made a face. "Pass."

Ignis felt more relieved than he should have been about that. It was a comfort, knowing things had not changed too much between them. "Perhaps we could do something you like next," he suggested, holding the door open for Noct as they walked out into the warm night air.

Noct grinned, opening his mouth before almost immediately shutting it again. "We do that all the time, though."

Ignis arched an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

He shrugged, keeping his eyes forward, navigating the small crowd of people milling around the art gallery. "You tell me." 

An obscure reply that did nothing to answer his question. "I believe most of the things we do are not enjoyable to either of us," he tried. "For example, going over those reports."

"Seriously? I thought you loved that stuff."

Was he _mocking_ him? "I can think of a number of ways I would rather spend my time," Ignis said dryly. 

Noctis made a face. "But you always talk about them."

"Because you never read them," he pointed out stiffly and immediately regretted it. They had been enjoying a pleasant evening so far and he had no wish to ruin it. "I enjoy it no more than you do, let me assure you."

Noct huffed out a dry laugh. "If you say so, Specs."

There was no point continuing to argue about it. They walked in a companionable silence for a few minutes toward the parking garage. There was some warmth lingering in the air with a gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean. The moon had just risen over the city, full and beautiful.

"Isn't Lacuna Lake near here?" Noct asked, glancing around.

"Hoping to do some late night fishing?" Ignis replied, amused.

"Yeah," he said, without a trace of irony. "I want to see how those new lures do in the evening."

Hm. "I suppose it can't hurt," he said, a touch skeptical. "Just remember—"

"I know," Noct muttered. "Training with Gladio in the morning."

It was a point worth considering. Gladio would be furious with him if he kept Noct up. Still, he had been quite insistent that Ignis find balance in his life. Perhaps it was time to take him up on that advice. "So long as you're willing to accept the consequences, I see no reason not to."

Noct grinned at him, bright enough the moon dulled in comparison. "Now you're talking."

"Did you bring your fishing gear?" 

He nodded. "It's in the armiger."

"You're using the royal _armory_ for your fishing rod?" he exclaimed before he could stop himself. "Don't you think—"

"I think I should use it however I want," Noct said, a note of irritation threading through his voice. "I'm the one carrying everything around. I might as well have _something_ in there I want to use." He shrugged. "It's too big to easily take with me anyway."

Ignis tutted, but couldn't fault him. "And how did your new lures behave the other day?"

"Hard to tell," Noct admitted. "None of the fish were biting, but it was late in the day. For fish, anyway." It sounded reasonable enough. Fishing was not Ignis's forte. 

He let Noct lead the way to the reservoir, gently guiding him through a near-missed turn. "Did you know Lacuna Lake was commissioned by Avus the Wise? He built it to be a reservoir of sorts, but—"

"Ignis," Noct interrupted him. "I've learned more than enough about my ancestors tonight."

"Of course," Ignis said immediately.

The lake had been a concerted effort to provide a touch of nature in the middle of Insomnia, surrounded on all sides by a well-maintained park. A walking trail wound around the lake, skirting the parking lot and leading down towards a protected harbor. 

The lake itself was man-made and kept stocked with a healthy supply of several species of fish. Noct stood at the fishing dock, gazing out at the water for a moment before summoning his fishing rod. The royal magic was particularly beautiful in the dim light. 

Ignis could still remember watching Noctis learn to use the armiger, many years ago. He had practiced for hours in his room at the citadel, the air sparkling with that brilliant, unmistakable blue followed by the rush of displaced air and magic. The memory of it still brought an ache to Ignis's chest.

Noct summoned his fishing rod, a birthday present from Gladio several years ago. It had come with an accompanying set of lures, fishing line, and a month of personal training from Gladio himself. The two had both benefitted from the shared activity, and Noct had grown increasingly interested in fishing for its own sake. He'd almost outstripped Gladio for skill the last time the two of them had indulged together.

Nothing seemed to be biting tonight, but Noctis seemed perfectly content to cast and re-cast the line. There was a fluidity to his movements, an unselfconscious grace in the way he reeled the line back in to try a new lure before casting out again. The moon lent a surreal, silvery glow to the scene, glinting off the water, off Noct's hair and the lines of his face. The air held quiet potential, like shared magic waiting just out of reach.

Ignis almost startled when Noctis broke the stillness. "Hey, Ignis. You want to try?"

It was an honor, though he had little interest in the activity itself. "Extremely kind of you," he tried, "but I couldn't." He wouldn't feel right, taking away Noct's time at the dock. He got so little of it as is.

"C'mon, Specs. You'll like it."

Ignis had his doubts, but he accepted the rod nonetheless. "And what am I to do with this?"

Noct laughed a little. "We'll start you with a beginner lure. You'll get a bite for sure." How desirable the fish, he didn't say. "Here, put it on, like this—" and showed him how to attach a new lure, then how to cast it. It felt like learning an unfamiliar weapon and it showed. The lure barely made it five feet from dock.

"It's like Gladio always says," Noct told him. "Put your back into it."

Ignis sighed, but tried again. To his surprise, a minute later, the fishing rod jerked in his hand. "Noctis," he said, perhaps a bit too urgently.

Noct grinned at him. "Get a bite?"

"I believe so."

"Now reel it in." 

Ignis tried, but it became quickly apparent he had no idea what he was doing. "The line is going to break."

"Make sure you point the rod towards the fish," Noct said helpfully. 

"The fish is in front of me," Ignis informed him, and Noct laughed. It was unclear whether he was genuinely amused or if he was perhaps taking cruel enjoyment in the fact that his advisor was unable to do something as simple as reel in a fish. 

"You want to lead it," Noct told him, "not fight it. Let the fish think it's in control, and then, when the line is nice and easy, you bring it in."

Hmm. Phrased like that, Ignis could almost see the appeal. "An excellent tactic to use against both fish and diplomats," he suggested, and Noct laughed, low and easy.

Ignis followed Noct's instructions and after what seemed an interminable period of stressful inactivity, the fish was finally within reach. 

"Pull it up," Noct ordered. He seemed pleased with the result, despite the fish's unimpressive stature. "Nice. You're already getting the hang of it."

"Perhaps," Ignis said, "but I think I had best leave the fishing to you." He passed the rod over. "Though I must thank you for your excellent advice."

Noct grinned, looking out over the water. "So the prince becomes the advisor."

Ignis fixed his glasses. "I best be careful. I may be out of a job, soon."

"I wouldn't put in my two weeks' notice just yet," Noct told him, casting the line. "I don't think a few fishing tips would go over well in the council meetings."

Ignis chuckled. "They might liven things up."

"Ugh," Noct muttered. "They must be really dead if _you'd_ rather hear about fishing than council updates."

"You'd be surprise how far a little humor can take you," Ignis informed him cheerfully.

Noct shrugged, unimpressed. "Whatever. You're not allowed to quit."

"Duly noted," Ignis told him.

He nodded, satisfied, and after a few moments, Ignis let his attention wander, his gaze settling on Noct's face, watching his expressions as he cast the line. 

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when Noct spoke again. "So, uh. Prompto told me he's bi." He glanced at Ignis from the corner of his eye, perhaps trying to gauge his reaction.

"Oh?" Noct was silent long enough that Ignis finally felt the need to prompt, gently, "Does it bother you?"

" _No,_ " Noct growled. "Of course not."

Good. As he had suspected. Still, there must have been some reason Noctis brought it up, if Ignis could only figure out what he wished to discuss. "Do you think he may be interested in you?"

"W-what? _Prompto?_ " Noct protested, surprised enough it had to be genuine. "In me?"

"Just a thought," Ignis said smoothly. If Prompto hadn't brought it up, it certainly wasn't Ignis's place to address the matter. And it would hardly be appropriate to point out that it wasn't that much of a stretch to imagine why anyone would be interested in Noct. It was unlikely he would take such suggestions well, regardless. 

Noct was silent for a few minutes, frowning off into the distance, the rod nearly forgotten in his hand. It was entirely possible Ignis had already said too much. He was about to suggest they call it a night when Noct spoke. "Sorry."

Ignis blinked. "Pardon?"

"For everything," Noct elaborated, clarifying absolutely nothing.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific," he said carefully.

"I was kind of—weird about the whole Maritus thing," Noct said. "I never really. Said I was sorry. So. Uh. Sorry."

Ignis stared at him for a full second before summoning the automatic response. "Nonsense. There's no need to apologize."

Noctis actually pulled his eyes off the lake to give Ignis a pointed look. 

"Though I do wish I understood what bothered you about it," he added honestly.

Noct laughed, dark and quiet. "I'm not even sure _I_ know what the problem is. Was." He shifted, reeling in the line, fiddling with the lure a bit before casting it again. He fell silent for a few moments. Ignis had started to suspect that was all he would get when Noct continued, "I mean—you didn't tell me. I just thought that we—" and Ignis's chest constricted unpleasantly, "—I mean, if Prompto were dating someone, he'd probably be texting me while asking them out, you know?"

Ignis managed a snort.

"I just. Thought we were friends."

It was a blow hard enough to leave him reeling. "Noct," he began, taking great care with his words and tone, "you are my oldest and dearest friend." It was an incredible understatement.

Noct looked away, his cheeks darkening slightly in the dim light. "Good. I mean—yeah." He laughed, sounding self conscious. "Thanks?" He cleared his throat. "Just—everyone acted like it was such a big deal. Like it was this great thing, that you'd found something better to do than hang out with me."

"They were rather rude about it, weren't they?" Ignis agreed.

"Yeah." He frowned down at his hands and let the rod drop back into the armiger. "Dating seems pretty important, though. To me, anyway." He took a breath, let it out. "I haven't even gone on a date, let alone—" and cut himself off, failing to finish the sentence. It didn't matter. Ignis heard it clearly regardless: _have sex_. 

"I realize Gladio—and Prompto—both place a great deal of importance on that particular aspect of a relationship," Ignis told him. "But I assure you, nothing can nor ever will come before you."

"Ugh," Noct groaned. "That's not what I—"

"Because you are _important_ to me, Noct," Ignis pressed. "Not because of duty or lineage, but because you are my friend."

Noct flushed. He summoned the fishing rod, frowned, dismissed it again. "That's the other thing," he said finally, letting the words out with his breath. "I'm starting to get that I haven't been a very good friend."

"Nonsense," Ignis tried.

"I'd never been to your apartment," Noct interrupted him. "Or gone to the art gallery with you. I didn't even know you _wanted_ to go." He let out a frustrated noise. "You know all this stuff about me, and I feel like I don't know anything about you."

Ignis stared at him for one second that stretched into several, and still he was at a loss. His education had covered a very broad but in depth range of material and none of it had prepared him for this. "Perhaps not," he said slowly, reaching for the right words, "but the most important part of my life occurs at the Citadel. With you." He cleared his throat. "I've rarely gone to the arcade with you, after all. I would like to think we're still friends."

Noct was silent for a long moment. "Yeah," he muttered finally, a concession of sorts. "I guess."

Ignis waited, giving him time. He was frowning, chewing at his lip, lost in his own unreadable thoughts. He looked very vulnerable, just now, and Ignis had to fight the urge to move closer. To protect him. 

"It's just. You're always there for me, though," Noct said at last. "With me. We were supposed to be doing what you wanted tonight and now you're here watching me fish." He glared over at Ignis. "I know it's boring as hell and if you try to tell me it's not—"

"Did you find the gallery boring, Noct?" Ignis asked gently. 

"Well—yeah," he admitted. "A little. But it was still fun hanging out with you."

"Precisely," Ignis nodded.

Noct's mouth curled up at the corner, a smile surprisingly small for the strength with which it squeezed at Ignis's chest. "Good," he said firmly. And then, considerably more uncertain, "So you wanna hang out again?"

It was a question, not an order. "I can think of nothing I would like better," Ignis assured him. 

"Except for the opera," Noct warned.

"I've heard rumors of an excellent vegan restaurant—" Ignis said, keeping his expression straight

" _Ignis!_ " Noct protested.

He smiled to himself. "Perhaps something else, then," and nodded at the lake. "I believe you still have a few lures yet to try."

Noct shook his head. "I'm done," he said, and as if to prove it, yawned. "It's bedtime."

"It is quite late," Ignis agreed.

"The fish weren't really biting, anyway," Noct said. "I think you caught the only one still awake."

"Mere beginner's luck," he insisted.

Noct laughed, punching him on the arm. It was an oddly comforting gesture, setting the world to rights again. "Too afraid to try again, huh?" 

Ignis sniffed. "I'm afraid I won't be manipulated that easily."

Noct grinned at him, close and easy, and Ignis had to take a breath and a step back. "If you say so," he smirked. "Ready to go?"

"Whenever you are," Ignis agreed, and together they set off for the car.

The ride did not take terribly long, and Ignis kept his eyes off of Noct in the passenger seat and instead on the road in front of them. He made certain to follow Noct up to his apartment, seeing to it that the prince made it at least through the door before dozing off. 

Noctis lingered at the door, though, fighting off a series of yawns. "Next week," he insisted firmly.

Ignis raised his eyebrows, waiting.

"What's next on your list?" Noct asked. "Besides the opera."

"Hmm," he mused. "Have you any interest in Altissian food? There's a new restaurant by the name of Culina's that's opened downtown."

"Does it have any vegetables?"

"Some of it, certainly." Noct made a face, and Ignis had to hide his smile. "I am sure they have something more lacking in nutrition on the menu, though."

Noct shrugged, mouth curving. "Then why not?"

"I'll make a reservation then," Ignis said and paused. Perhaps they should invite Prompto and Gladio—

"Make it for two," Noct instructed, reading his mind. He yawned again. 

"Best be off to bed," Ignis told him. "You have an early morning tomorrow."

Noct groaned. "I'm not the only one."

"I needn't the reminder." He hesitated, for some reason reluctant to leave. "You have everything you need?"

"Yep," Noct told him. "I mean, unless you want to read me a bedtime story."

Ignis's thoughts ground to a halt for an agonizing second before he finally managed, "Certainly. There are some reports yet to go over—"

"Ugh. Never mind."

"I'll be off then," Ignis told him. A pause. "Good night, Noct."

Noct grinned at him, slow and warm. "'Night." 

Ignis made himself turn away. He was some steps down the hall before he heard Noct's door close. He hesitated for a second, listening for the click of the lock before continuing on his way. He found himself humming, and it took him a moment to place the song: the theme to Charlie the Chocobo. Noct had watched it as a child. The song had always gotten stuck in his head.

Perhaps Gladio and the King had not been entirely wrong in their insistence on finding balance between work and personal life. It seemed they had all been looking in the wrong direction, though. His center of balance had lain with Noctis all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we've come to the end! Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck with me through this and to everyone who's left a comment or a kudo. They really helped keep me going!
> 
> This is the end of this fic, but not the end of their story. I have a sequel I've already started to work on, but it was really important to me to focus on Noct and Ignis's emotional relationship first. 
> 
> Rest assured there will actually be some physical intimacy in the sequel (...eventually) and that Prompto will definitely be involved.
> 
> And thanks to everyone in the comments for suggesting that I make this part of a series so people can follow it easily. :)


End file.
